Warning after key is '¨cloned and car taken

Rachael Farr, aged 29, and her partner Lee Dalziel, 45, bought a blue BMW X6 for £25,000 after saving for months.

The couple had only been using the car for 13 days when they awoke to find that it had been stolen from their driveway.

There was no sign of a break in and CCTV shows two young men walking up to the car and driving off in it.

Ms Farr then discovered thieves can create copies of keys by using a device used legitimately by locksmiths and car dealers to create new ones.

She said: “If I had known that I would never have bought the car. We saved up for a long time for it and paid cash because we didn’t want to put it on credit.

“We just couldn’t believe it. We locked the car, went to bed and now some one has gone and stolen it.

“We spent all of our savings on it and might not get that back through the insurance.”

BBC television programme Watchdog launched an investigation into the security flaw in 2012, the same year Ms Farr’s car was manufactured.

Watchdog’ demonstrated how programming the key for a 2012 BMW X6 can be completed within 12 minutes.

BMW has since fixed the issue and offered free upgrades to owners back in 2012, but as Ms Farr only bought the car recently she was unaware of the problem.

She said: “People need to be made aware of it. I was really annoyed, I rang the garage we bought it from and apparently it is common, but they didn’t tell us at the time. It’s so frustrating.”

Ms Farr said in the days before the car was stolen she saw two men driving slowly past the house and they were also seen by neighbours.

A Nottinghamshire Police spokesman said: “Police are investigating the theft of a BMW from Lindley’s Lane, Kirkby, which occurred on Thursday, January 26, just after 4am. If anyone saw anything suspicious or has any information that could help, please call police on 101.”