Football fan's car stripped at Blues match

Thomas Reid found his car had been stripped of its parts while he was at a football match

A man's car was stripped while he was at a football match, just days before a similar incident in the same city.

Thomas Reid from Warwickshire parked in Birmingham's Buckingham Street car park at midday on Saturday, 13 January.

When he returned at midnight after watching Birmingham City play Swansea, the window had been smashed and the car stripped of its parts.

Just days later, the same thing happened to Chris Pugh, who had parked near St Andrew's stadium.

However, both investigations have been closed by West Midlands Police as there were no further lines of inquiry.

A BBC investigation last year found that cars parked in Birmingham city centre had been stripped of parts in a spate of separate thefts.

Swansea fan Mr Reid moved to Curdworth in Warwickshire to live with Meena Murugan, who is now his wife, giving up his Swansea City season ticket in the process.

"He was so excited to watch them play," Ms Murugan said about Saturday's match between the two sides.

The couple are struggling to balance work and nursery drop offs with only one car

However, Mr Reid didn't expect that watching his team play would lead to his car being stripped of its parts.

"I approached from the side and I could see the window had been smashed," he said.

"I thought someone had just tried to get in and see what they could nick, but I walked around the front and the bonnet was missing, the number plate was missing, the bumper was gone, the headlights - and I thought 'oh God, what's happened here?'"

Mr Reid had parked his Toyota Corolla Hybrid in a private pay and display car park, which he says has CCTV.

The window of the car had been smashed while it was parked in Buckingham Street's car park

Although the incident was reported to the police, the case had already been closed by the following morning.

"These cases are clearly on the rise and there is little deterrent for the criminals," Ms Murugan said.

'Huge inconvenience'

"We have been advised there is a long delay on car parts due to Brexit and a national shortage of courtesy cars so we could be waiting upwards of four weeks," Ms Murugan said.

Now Ms Murugan, who is a doctor, and Mr Reid, an accountant, are struggling to balance work and nursery drop-offs for their three-year-old. "It has caused huge inconvenience to us," she said.

A spokesman for West Midlands Police said: "We've carried out some initial enquiries but at this stage no suspect has been identified, and there are currently no active lines of investigation.

"We will look to act on any fresh information which comes to light. We fully understand the upset, frustration and impact this type of crime has on victims."