hocking footage shows thieves stealing a car without keys

CCTV footage has been released by West Midlands Police showing one of the first thefts of its kind where robbers stole a Mercedes by using a signal-relay device to trick the car into thinking they had the keys.

The theft is one of the first "relay crimes" to be caught on camera, where thieves can steal a car without needing keys. Two men are seen on the footage carrying relay boxes to the car owner's house at 9 p.m. on September 24. They then used the device to steal a Mercedes parked on a driveway in Solihull, West Midlands. All this, they did under 1 minute.

The relay boxes are designed to receive a signal from the car key inside the property - which can be picked up through walls, doors, and windows - and then transfer the signal to a second box next to the car. This tricks the vehicle's systems into thinking that the key is present, subsequently unlocking it.

In the footage, one of the thieves can then be seen driving off in the car after they had got access to it using the relay device. The car has still not been recovered.

Watch the footage below.