A former soldier today told of a three-day mission in which he tracked down and retrieved his stolen car right under the thieves' noses - thanks to his mobile phone.

IPSWICH: A former soldier today told of a three-day mission in which he tracked down and retrieved his stolen car right under the thieves' noses - thanks to his mobile phone.

Roan Webb, of London Road, Ipswich, was put hot on their heels after texting his friends to keep an eye out for his beloved Peugeot 406 coupe.

Before long, messages were coming back thick and fast with sightings across the town.

But after two days of following dead ends, the trail appeared to run cold - until he received a call saying a friend had followed the car to a driveway in Ulster Avenue.

Mr Webb, 40, hot-footed it to the address and pulled off a masterclass in stealth tactics.

Mr Webb, who served in the Royal Artillery for ten years, said: “I was feeling depressed about the whole situation, then I got a call out of the blue.

“A friend had been watching the car and said a group of youths had gone inside the house.

“I sped up there. My heart was pounding. I imagined them coming out and seeing me. I walked up to the car, jumped in and drove away.

“Just to keep myself in the clear, I went straight to the police station.”

Mr Webb said he has lost a new job in telecoms as a result of the theft because he did not have a car for several days.

The incident occurred in the early hours of Monday, October 5, while it was parked in Beaconsfield Road, Ipswich.

He initially made a frantic call to police, but decided to take matters into his own hands by texting around 50 of his friends with a description and registration number of his car.

He said: “It was one of those surreal moments. I thought I must have left it somewhere else.

“Out of frantic fright, I texted every single friend in my mobile phone.

“It is the first thing you should do because the chances are the car is still in the same town and they will see it.”

Have you ever tried Mr Webb's tactics? Should they be used more often? Write to Your Letters, The Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or send us an e-mail to eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk