Emily Hamilton’s car after the front of it was stripped away by thieves

A Queen's University student has described her shock after waking up to find that thieves had stolen half her car, just yards from where she slept.

Emily Hamilton (21) was dumbfounded on Friday morning when she left her student house in the Stranmillis area of south Belfast to go to work - only to discover that the front of her Vauxhall Corsa was missing.

A window had been smashed and the bodywork removed from the entire front of the vehicle, along with the engine.

"I couldn't believe it, I just thought, 'Oh my goodness, someone has stolen half my car'," she said.

"It was really scary."

The English and Drama student, due to graduate today, later learned that the window had only been smashed to allow the perpetrators to open the bonnet before stealing a number of car parts in addition to the bonnet and bumper.

After taking to social media to warn other car owners of the risk, she was shocked to find out that it has happened to other people.

"I have never heard of anything like this happening, so I wanted to make people in the area aware of it. I didn't think it would get much of a response," she explained.

"Quite a lot of people commented saying that it has happened to them or they know someone it has happened to.

"A lot of people have been joking about it, and I understand why, but I'm really disappointed because I have lived here for a year and it's always been a lovely area." The Facebook appeal has since been shared by hundreds of social media users.

Ms Hamilton, who could see the vehicle from her bedroom window, believes her car was singled out by the culprits.

"They were really professional in how they did it and it seems they were looking for something very specific," she said.

"I've been told that the way it was taken off is exactly the way a mechanic would do it and it has probably been put directly onto another car."

Belfast Telegraph