Shock for mum as thief takes car with 3-year-old inside

A mother had a scare yesterday when she found her car had been taken with her 3-year-old child inside.

The green Honda sedan was allegedly taken by a woman shoplifter fleeing from a Christchurch mall about 11am while the mother was in a shop.

Police immediately launched a full-scale search for the car, but it turned up about 10 minutes later when the driver dumped it and asked two people she knew to take it back where it came from "because she knew she had the child in the car and was probably going to be in a bit of strife", Sergeant Richard Ryan told the Herald.

It turned out that the woman sought by police knew the mother, though not well, Mr Ryan said. The child was "a bit frightened, but she's absolutely fine".

The mother, who did not want to make a complaint about the taking of the car, was a bit "freaked out" and "more than stoked" when her child was returned, Mr Ryan said.

Police were yesterday seeking a 39-year-old woman for theft and unlawfully taking a motor vehicle.