A THIEF posed as a potential customer to steal a £17,000 BMW from a Bradley Fold woman.

A bogus buyer turned up at Andrea Redman's home to view the car after she advertised it in a motoring magazine.

The man sat in the driver's seat and Andrea put the key in the ignition so that he could see the mileage.

But the thief slammed the door shut and and drove off.

The theft has stunned Andrea, who still has £15,000 to pay on the car.

She said there was nothing about the thief's manner which made her wary. He turned up in a red W-reg Rover and was wearing dark jeans, a knitted jumper and Kickers style black boots.

Although he had a bruised left eye, he was clean-shaven and spoke with a deep, gruff voice. He had dark, cropped hair, was around 5ft 8in tall and said he was buying the car for his girlfriend.

Andrea said: "I just never thought in a million years that he would have slammed the door shut and driven off. I feel physically sick and haven't been sleeping properly."

The theft took place last Friday. The man, who said he was called Paul and from Farnworth, telephoned to say he was interested in the silver BMW 318 coupe -- registration X38 KOB -- and told Andrea he would visit her at 7.30pm.

Andrea, aged 31, and her 45-year-old partner Aidan Roberts moved their van, which was blocking the car, and placed the BMW on the road so that the man could get a proper look at it.

When the thief drove off, Andrea ran into the house to alert Aidan. They dashed out to find that the thief's Rover had also gone.

Andrea said: "We just can't believe it. It's something you never think would happen."

Thieves are becoming more inventive in stealing modern vehicles -- many of which have security measures that make it difficult to drive away without a key.

There has been a spate of car-jackings, in which thieves pull motorists from their vehicles while they are stationary at traffic lights.

Thieves have also used the trick of threading a wire and hook through the letter boxes of homes to grab keys left on a hallway table.

Some expensive models have even been stolen when the owner returned inside the house while defrosting the car.

Sgt Bill Crittenden said: "We urge motorists to be vigilant and to be wary of allowing people they do not know into their vehicles.

"Private sales are never the most ideal because they are based entirely on trust.

"There can be problems with bounced cheques and people driving away.

"Sometimes the person making the sale will take the money and disappear with the car.

"The best advice is to go to a dealer, to never allow anyone to drive their car alone and to use a bankers draft for the transfer of cash."