Shocked Westcliff driver Peter Warren only realised his Vitara was stolen when a garage gave him an identical model with the same number plate to use as a courtesy car.

Peter had bought the K-reg Suzuki Vitara, a soft-top four-wheel-drive, just four days earlier for his wife Debbie, 34.

He took it to the Classic Car Centre, in Tarpots, Benfleet, to have the windows tinted and owner Gary Messenger, a friend of Peter's, handed him the keys of a courtesy car to use for a few hours.

It was then that Peter's excitement at buying his pride and joy turned to horror.

The 46-year-old driver, of MacDonald Avenue, Westcliff, said: "It was another white Vitara and when I saw the number plate I thought it was very similar to mine and thought they may have been registered consecutively.

"Then I realised the plates were exactly the same. We checked the chassis numbers and they were identical too, except the garage's one had a star engraved in it and mine did not. I realised one had been stolen and, of course, it had to be mine."

Police inquiries revealed the car had been stolen from Barking just four weeks before father-of-three Peter bought his Vitara at a car auction in London.

The ringer had been cloned from the genuine vehicle and supplied with a convincing false log book and MOT certificate.

Gary, 30, said: "I looked at Peter's face when he saw the two registrations were the same and it was unbelievable.

"When I saw the chassis number on his vehicle I could tell the original had been ground out and a new one stamped over. It was not an official Suzuki stamp mark.

"I then looked at his seats and saw they were the older type. This was not something Peter would have known.

"It was a terrible shock for him and such a coincidence."

Peter, a leisure manager, has been promised a full refund from the sellers.Debbie, a garage cashier, burst into tears when she heard her new car was a ringer.

She said: "I was so upset. I have looked at other Vitaras but none were as nice as that one. I decided I must be jinxed with them so have now got a Ford Probe."

Unbelievable - Peter Warren, left, and garage owner Gary Messenger were amazed to discover they had identical vehicles

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