While Fiona Campbell joined thousands of Canberrans struggling to clear their car windscreens after a heavy frost this week, she had no idea it would end in disaster.
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The Tuggeranong resident woke early on Tuesday morning so the heater and demister in her Volkswagen Golf could thaw the ice before she got behind the wheel.
Since the car was parked in her driveway, she assumed it would be safe and she wouldn't need to guard it while the ice melted. She was wrong.
"It was nothing unusual. I put the bins out and then went inside to get my handbag and kiss my husband goodbye before going to work," she said.
"I wouldn't have been in there for longer than five minutes and when I came out, it was gone. Some mongrel had stolen it."
Ms Campbell said she stood in her driveway dumbfounded and spent several minutes wondering what had happened to her car.
"I even questioned whether it had rolled down the hill," she said.
When Ms Campbell reported the theft to police she was told her unfortunate experience was not uncommon.
"We have received reports of stolen cars after people have left vehicles running in their driveways of a morning to warm up and defrost," an ACT Policing spokesman said.
"Sure, no one likes a frosted windscreen – in fact driving without a clear view is an offence – but please don't make it easy for thieves and leave your cars running and unattended."
Ms Campbell urged other Canberrans to learn from her experience and pay closer attention to their cars while they were defrosting.
"A day after the theft I was on my way to work with a friend and we noticed several cars sitting in driveways defrosting, waiting for another mongrel to come along," she said.
Ms Campbell said the car had belonged to her daughter who spent three years saving as an apprentice chef to afford it and was now devastated.
"My daughter worked her butt off as an apprentice chef to replace the very cheap car we had given her when she got her driver licence," she said.
"The purchase of a Volkswagen Golf was a major event in her life. I feel extremely disappointed that it has been stolen while it was in my care and she is devastated."
The police spokesman said Canberrans should not be complacent about the safety of their vehicles while they were defrosting on cold mornings.
"The best thing to do is give yourself plenty of time in the morning to properly clear the frost from your windscreen without having to leave it alone to warm up," he said.
