Clever driver steals her Land Rover back from thieves using GPS tracker

Jo Coombs gave the crooks a taste of their own medicine after she woke up one morning to find her Land Rover Discovery Sport was missing from outside her home in Battersea, London.

She “always assumed” that the car was safe as it was protected by large gates that were controlled with a key code but, to her horror, the vehicle was pinched from her driveway.

“It’s well known that Land Rover and Range Rover keyless entry cars are easy to steal. But you never think it’s going to happen to you. Or I stupidly thought it wouldn’t,” she explained.

“I immediately called the police. They took my details, gave me a crime reference number and left me feeling like that was it. Yet another Land Rover vehicle gone for good.”

But things started looking hopeful when she realised that insurance company, By Miles, offered a GPS tool in their smartphone app to track and calculate the miles you drive every month.

Jo then hatched a plan to steal her Land Rover back using the app.

“I could see that my car was taken at 04.34, driven a mile away. Parked for 40 minutes. Driven again another mile. Parked,” she told The Sun.

“This continued a few times until eventually it was parked 1.9 miles from home. And it hadn’t moved since.

“I called the police again. They told me to get my keys and go and reclaim my car. I had thought they would go, but no, apparently it was quicker if I did.”

The thieves had smashed her wing mirror and even changed her licence plates, but Jo knew the car belonged to her.

"The engine started, my number plates were inside the car, and apart from the wing mirror, some other minor scrapes, cleaned out glove & door compartments and stinking of cigarettes it was fine.

"The police arrived about 30 minutes later. They checked the car. Ran the plates that were on my car - they were for another Blue Discovery Sport (not reported stolen).”

After swapping back her number plates, Jo drove straight to Halfords to pick up a steering lock to prevent future thieves from nabbing the vehicle.

"Lesson number one - buy and use a steering lock, especially if you have a keyless entry car.

“They say you only realise the value of your insurance and discover whether the company you chose is any good when you claim on it. By Miles has already proven its value to me.”