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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Adam Dutton & Hayley Parker

'Stolen' £64,000 Land Rover found dumped in canal lock is lifted out with crane

A stolen luxury Land Rover had to be craned out of a canal lock after it was discovered floating on its side in the water.

The Land Rover Discovery, thought to be worth around £64,000, was found in New Main Line Canal in Tipton, West Midlands on Sunday, and removed this evening.

It's not known how the car ended up in the lock, but police confirmed the 4x4 was reported stolen in Staffordshire, writes Stoke On Trent Live

Tyre tracks and broken glass could be seen around the lock and there was a small amount of fuel leaking out of the back of the car into the water.

The car was discovered on Sunday morning (Anita Maric / SWNS)

Canal & River Trust tweeted: "The vehicle has safely been recovered from the water. Very minimal damage to the lock & environment. Oils & fluids from the vehicle have been contained within the lock & a team are dealing with it accordingly."

No injuries have been reported.

One web user replied: "I know you should lock your car when in big cities, but that seems like someone's misunderstood the instructions"

Another put: "Just when you thought you'd seen it all. Stolen I presume?"

The Land Rover was removed by crane (Canal & River Trust WS)

A third added: "You can't park there mate" and one person said: "Flooded the engine."

Another commented: "Would love to hear how they explain that to the insurance company."

West Midlands Police said they believed the Land Rover Discovery had been stolen before being driven into the canal.

A spokesperson said yesterday: "We were called to Factory Road in Tipton shortly before 6am this morning (Sunday) following reports a vehicle had driven into a canal.

"Our colleagues from the fire service also attended and following checks of the vehicle and the lock no-one was found.

"The vehicle was believed to be stolen from the Staffordshire area."

Police say the car was reported stolen in Staffordshire (Anita Maric / SWNS)

Last week a newly qualified driver and her boyfriend had a lucky escape after she lost control of her car and plunged it in a river.

In a TikTok video, Leia Darnell, 18, proudly shows off her pass certificate and bejewelled steering wheel to the camera, and said she was "over the moon". The video then cuts to footage of the car submerged in the murky waters, with it's lights still shining.

She then showed the car in daylight, still in the lake, as her boyfriend re-entered the vehicle to fish out personal belongings. The soggy Volkswagen was then dragged out of the water by a crane, which Leia captioned: "Write off".

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