POLICE have said they do not believe Worcestershire is becoming a target for professional gangs of carjackers.

Detectives said thieves are concentrating on high performance vehicles parked on home driveways but that they do not suspect a shift in how the vehicles were being stolen.

The reassurance has come after raiders sped away in a £25,000 Subaru Impreza after attacking its owner in Holt Heath on Tuesday.

Christopher Kelsey, a civil engineer from Rednal, near Birmingham, fell victim outside a Spar store near Holt Fleet bridge. Two raiders pushed him up against the car window and threatened him, before making off with the car.

"While there is a possibility that this vehicle may have been followed, vehicle thefts of this type are very, very uncommon here in South Worcestershire," a police spokesman said.

"There is nothing to suggest there is a trend here. Quite why it happened where it happened is something we are trying to find out.

"There have been thefts of high-value, high performance vehicles during the last 12 months - in both Worcester and Droitwich - but these have involved burglaries when ignition keys have been stolen prior to vehicles being driven off, while the owners were sleeping."

Earlier this month, the Evening News reported how seven high powered cars had been taken from Droitwich homes in just eight weeks.

Police warned drivers then to keep car keys away from view through windows or letterboxes in a bid to deter thieves. A spokesman suggested the town might have been prone to car raids because it is so close to the M5, offering a good getaway.

Anyone with information about the Impreza, registration VU04 RXC, can call police on 08457 444888, quoting 154C/180504.