'Urgent need' for driver protection

The Home Secretary has warned of stiff penalties

The RAC has suggested that drivers should protect themselves from "extreme violence" by using an anti smash-and-grab protective film on their car windows.

Their call came on the day a 69-year-old man was car-jacked on his way home from a funeral in Sheffield.

Reg Billings was attacked by two men on Thursday after pulling over his new Volvo in the Manor area of the city when heavy rain started to fall.

The RAC has suggested that film which lessens the risk of windows shattering is suited to car-jack "hotspots", including Salford in Greater Manchester, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and parts of west London.

Widely used

Of the Sheffield car-jacking, Sergeant Helen Wilde from South Yorkshire Police said: "He [Mr Billings] decided it was safer to pull over and just let the rain subside.

"He was parked at the side, engine switched off and within minutes... two men approached... and forcibly dragged him from the vehicle."

Protective film on car windows is widely used in South Africa and North America and the toughest US safety films protect against penetration by metal bars and hammers.

They also stop victims being showered with broken glass.

'Extreme violence'

Edmund King of the RAC Foundation, the motoring organisation's campaigning arm, said: "There has been a recent rise in horrific car-jacking attacks.

"This has highlighted an urgent need for motorists to be aware of ways to protect themselves from thieves who will, in some cases, use extreme violence to obtain a vehicle or its contents.

"Motorists who use the film will be better able to protect their vehicle windows and ultimately themselves and their cars."

In February, Home Secretary David Blunkett warned that anyone involved in car-jacking would be dealt with very severely.

High-profile thefts

Recent car-jack victims have included former Tory ministers Steve Norris, Edwina Currie and TV personality Anthea Turner.

But there have been a number of other high-profile car thefts involving members of the public.

The RAC said that as well as cars, raiders also targeted items like mobile phones, expensive watches or laptop computers.

Many cases have taken place when vehicles were waiting at traffic lights.

Meanwhile, the RAC has agreed to remove any reference to Liverpool as a car-jacking "hotspot" in its press statement about the protective films.

Merseyside Police complained to the motoring organisation after it said Liverpool was a hot spot for the crime - something which the force insisted was factually incorrect.