A YOUNG mum returned from a shopping trip to find a thief sitting in her Volkswagen Polo on the Safeway car park.

The incident happened at about 4.45pm on Thursday. Karen Johnson, from Junction Road, Rainford, had been buying food for her young niece's birthday party and had taken her five-month-old baby son, Joe along for the ride.

However, as she headed back towards her car again, she was horrified to discover a man sitting in the front seat trying to steal the radio.

Karen told the Star: "I just couldn't believe it. I even thought I had made a mistake and it wasn't my car."

Then she amazed herself by confronting the man. "I didn't think rationally, I just walked to the car, opened the driver's door and asked him what the hell he was doing. I think he was just as surprised as me and he swore at me before jumping out of the car. I was in his way then because I made sure I was covering the pram with Joe in it so he pushed me down before running off with half of the radio."

Fortunately, baby Joe was unharmed in the incident but Karen's little finger was badly broken as she fell to the ground and she now expects to undergo months of hospital treatment to mend the fracture. She was also very shocked and shaken by the attack.

She added: "I can't believe I tried to stop him now and if it ever happened again I wouldn't. But I was just so shocked to see him there. Now I just feel really angry that he might get away with it. He must have known it was a woman's car because of the baby harness and toddler seat for my two-year-old daughter but he just didn't care at all. I am just praying that he is caught soon."

DC Aidan Lavin, who is dealing with the case, said: "This must have been a terrifying experience for the woman who was with her five-month-old child. The attack was a cowardly and despicable act and we need to speak urgently to any other witnesses, or indeed anybody who may have information."

The man was described as white, about 25 years old, 5ft 8ins, with short blond hair and a ginger moustache. He wore a light-blue bomber jacket and white jeans and spoke with a St Helens accent.

ANYONE who can help is asked to contact DC Lavin on 0151 777 6066. Any information will be treated with strict confidence.

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