A SNEAK thief followed a woman into her home and stole her car keys before taking her BMW while she tended to her young son.

The burglary happened in Haughton Village, in Darlington, on Friday (November 21) shortly before 10am.

The victim had parked her car outside Todd's Butchers a short distance away from her home and told the butcher she would be back to move it.

After entering the house she pulled the door closed, left her car keys on the side and put her son in the living room before returning to properly lock the door.

A short time later she realised the keys were missing and noticed that her car, a dark grey BMW 520 with the registration number T11 GSJ, had gone.

CCTV from a neighbouring house showed the car drive past at 9.59am - moments after it had been parked by the owner.

The woman's husband said the incident had been very distressing for his family as it appeared she had been closely followed by the thief.

He added: "In the 15 seconds it took her to drop the keys on the table and walk to the living room and back someone has been in a grabbed them. I hate to think what might have happened if she had walked in when he was there."

The car was later spotted on CCTV on the A66 at 12.40pm and in the Teesside area at 7.45pm.

PC John Forster from Darlington Police has urged people to report any sightings of the car to police or anyone acting suspiciously in Haughton Village that morning.

He added: "Please be aware that even when you’re at home it is important to lock doors and move car keys away from doors and windows to prevent this kind of opportunistic theft."

Call Durham Police on 101 and ask for PC 2013 John Forster.