British man unknowingly spends ₹22 lakh to buy back his own stolen car: ‘I was in shock’ | Trending

In a bizarre twist of fate, a man from Solihull, West Midlands, accidentally bought back his own stolen car while searching for a replacement. As reported by the BBC, 36-year-old Ewan Valentine paid £20,000 ( ₹22 lakh) for what he believed was a near-identical black Honda Civic Type-R—only to later realise it was the very same car that had been taken from his driveway weeks earlier.

₹22 lakh. (Representational image/Unsplash)” title=”A British man accidentally bought back his stolen car for ₹22 lakh. (Representational image/Unsplash)” /> ₹22 lakh. (Representational image/Unsplash)” title=”A British man accidentally bought back his stolen car for ₹22 lakh. (Representational image/Unsplash)” />

(Also read: Indian woman films British husband nailing the desi way of eating golgappe. Wholesome video)

A shocking discovery

Valentine’s ordeal began on February 28 when he woke up to find his prized 2016 Honda Civic missing. After informing the police and his insurance provider, he began the search for a replacement.

“It was sort of a mid-life crisis car, and you don’t get many of those, so I was pretty determined to get it replaced before one day I have to get a sort of family car,” he told the BBC.

About 70 miles away, he came across what seemed to be the perfect match. “I spotted one that was identical—same colour, same year, same slightly obnoxious exhaust system on it as well,” he explained. “It fit the bill precisely.”

Suspicion sets in

As per the outlet, Valentine purchased the car from a reputable garage and brought it home. But not long after, subtle details began to raise his suspicions. “I started noticing things in the car were a little bit odd, like a single tent peg and some Christmas tree pines and some, like, Mars bar wrappers… All very similar to what you could have found in my stolen car.”

Things took a shocking turn when Valentine found his and his parents’ old addresses saved in the car’s built-in navigation system. “I nearly crashed, to be honest, because I was in shock… My hands were shaking; my heart was pounding,” he recalled.

“A part of me felt sort of triumphant for a moment until I realised, actually, no, this isn’t some heroic moment; you didn’t go and get your car back; you’ve actually done something a bit stupid.”

(Also read: British man embraces Kerala village life with Indian wife, wholesome videos win hearts)

Police confirm stolen vehicle

Taking the car to a Honda garage in Solihull, technicians quickly confirmed it was indeed his stolen vehicle. “The first Honda technician… pulled the physical key out [of the original smart key], puts it straight in the door and unlocks it and he’s like, ‘Yes, it’s your car’,” Valentine said.

Evidence of tampering with VIN numbers and other identifiers suggested a professional cloning job. Police believe the vehicle was stolen to order by unidentified criminals. Valentine noted, “The police and the Honda garage all said this was one of the best clone jobs they’d ever seen.”