Car stolen in broad daylight

GUTTED: Frank Small consoles his wife Joyce after their car was stolen on January 17.

WHEN Frank Small and his wife Joyce visited Grand Plaza Shopping Centre to run some errands, they never imagined they would return to the parking lot to find their car missing.

But that is exactly what happened when the two pensioners from Forestdale visited the Browns Plains shops about 12.30pm on Wednesday, January 17.

Parking their maroon Berlina Commodore in the car park closest to the Coles entryway, they were gone for less than half an hour while they picked up their medication from the chemist and stopped for a quick cup of coffee.

Upon returning to the car park, Mrs Small said she was deeply upset to find the car had been stolen.

"At first, my husband thought we had walked down the wrong isle, so we walked through a few of them, but I knew the car was gone," she said.

"I just felt sick that someone could do that."

She believes the offenders would have had to pop the lock and then hotwire the car to take it because her husband had locked the car before entering the shops.

"They must have really known what they were doing to take the car in a busy shopping centre in the middle of the day without anyone seeing," she said.

While nothing of value was displayed in the car to tempt the thieves, they did however escape with Mrs Small's walking stick which she relies heavily upon.

Through teary eyes, the couple said their independence had been snatched away from them.

"We need our car to take us to our many doctor appointments, but now we can't go anywhere," Mrs Small said.

In addition to their car being stolen, the Smalls received a traffic infringement for their car the day after it was stolen.

The new speed cameras at Loganholme clocked their car travelling at a speed of 150km/h in a 100kmh zone on Thursday, January 18, and issued a speeding infringement notice for $933 and eight demerit points.

They are now currently dealing with Queensland Transport to have the infringement waived.

In Queensland alone, car thefts from the 2010 to 2011 financial year rose by 16%, with 30,526 vehicles stolen last year according to the Queensland Police Service 2010-2011 Annual Statistical Review.