A £19,000 pick-up truck was stolen from Christchurch using technology that hacks keyless cars. 

A black Ford Ranger Wildtrak was stolen from the Barrack Road area on April 3 at around 12.15am. 

Owner Tom Lovegrove, 21, was told about the incident by his mum who had heard the hackers taking the car. 

He said: "My mum woke me up in the night at about midnight to someone beeping outside which is a system the truck has that when it's unlocked and started without the key, it beeps twice.

"She heard the vehicle drive off really quickly, wheels spinning, and looked outside the front door to see the truck was missing. I got out of bed, ran outside and it wasn't there."

Tom said police arrived on the scene quickly and looked for the car that night but have so far had no success.

Tom is asking the public to keep an eye out and said police had told him it is believed to have been stolen by an organised crime group.

He said: "There were a group of guys outside with the same technology trying to steal another car. Anyone that has a keyless needs to make sure that their keys are kept in a faraday box. 

"There are people going around stealing cars because they're so easy now. You can literally come up alongside it with a computer and take it.

"For all I know the truck could be already in France or anywhere else in Europe."

Tom's truck is recognisable through his private registration plate, X9 TLG and an RNLI sticker in the bottom left corner of the front windscreen.

Although the plate is unlikely to still be on the car, he hopes it is not too late to be found. 

A spokesperson for Dorset Police said: "Dorset Police received a report at 12.17am on Wednesday 3 April 2024 of the theft of a Ford truck near to Esso garage in Barrack Road in Christchurch.

"Enquiries are ongoing into the incident. No arrests have been made."