This is the moment a brave Swindon resident caught a would-be thief breaking into her car and chased him away.

Lucy Shavliuk heard a noise outside her Coate home on Saturday night and was shocked to see a man who had broken into her car leaning into the parked vehicle on her driveway and stealing anything left inside it.

When she confronted the stranger, he shouted and swore at her, then kicked at her car’s wing mirror and lunged towards her before turning around and fleeing.

Lucy followed on foot and, in an attempt to capture a good glimpse of the thief’s face, filmed the chase onto Marlborough Road.

Swindon Advertiser: A man seen breaking into a parked car in Coate who then ran offA man seen breaking into a parked car in Coate who then ran off (Image: From public)

She said: “It was quite a traumatic experience because we got burgled two months ago and now this has happened, my anxiety is through the roof.

“It was very dangerous. He was very angry, he could have had a knife and I was on my own, so what I did was brave but not very smart.

“The police arrived within minutes and searched the area but couldn’t find him and left after midnight.

“Minutes later, my camera spotted him wandering around again, so he's clearly not afraid of the police at all.

"I’m worried that he might come back on other nights because I confronted him, and I’m concerned that the police might not find him again.”

While looking back at his own home CCTV footage, neighbour John Wilson noticed a similarly-dressed figure wandering past his vehicle and breaking a wing mirror on Friday evening which he believes could be the same person that Lucy saw.

John said: “I first noticed the damage on Saturday morning and thought it might have been the bin men until I checked my camera.

“He kept going back and forth up my road until 2am, he was on the prowl.

“Lucy and I went to the police, who said the officer who could investigate this was not in until the February 23 – what if he came back and damaged more cars before that?

"What if he breaks into someone’s house?”

They have both heard reports of other people in the area encountering a suspicious person trying to steal from their vehicles.

A Wiltshire Police spokesperson said: "We are appealing for information following a report of vehicle interference.

"The incident happened in the Marlborough Road area on Saturday, February 17.

"We'd like to speak to the man pictured in connection with the incidents.

"If you can help, please call 101 and quote crime reference number 54240019165."