A FATHER was left furious after a thief “casually” stole his £76,000 car and drove off while he and his family slept upstairs.

Yassar Haneef realised his black limited edition Mercedes had been taken from outside his house in Darnley Road, Woodford Green, when he opened the curtains on the morning of April 5.

The 36-year-old IT consultant quickly called the police and checked his two CCTV cameras, which showed a man turn up on his doorstep at 12.20am.

He said: “My three-year-old son and five-year-old daughter hadn’t been very well so my wife and I had been running around after them all day and knocked out pretty early at about 11pm.

“When I saw it had gone I was very angry. I’ve always said if someone tries to steal the car, we’ve got measures in place to make sure they can’t.

“But when I checked the cameras the guy stood looking into the house, then just casually opened the car door, got in, and drove off.”

Mr Haneef also checked the car’s GPS tracker, but the thief had disabled it before speeding off. He also managed to outsmart the car's keyless locking system.

He added: “These guys obviously have enough knowledge and sophistication to get around all these things.

“They’ve really done their homework.

“They feel like they can come to our area and take what they want with absolutely no fear of the consequences.”

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said no arrests have been made in connection with the burglary but enquiries are ongoing.

Mr Haneef is worried Woodford Green has become a burglary hotspot after someone tried to break into his house last summer and two of his neighbours suffered similar incidents recently.

He is still waiting for a payout from his insurance company, but is shocked police did not pay him a follow up visit until three days later.

He believes thieves target the leafy suburb because of its increasingly affluent population, easy getaway routes via the A406 and M11, and lack of police presence.

Redbridge Police did not respond to the Guardian's request for comment.

He said: “There’s a lot of young families here who have moved out of the city and are doing very well for themselves, and it’s showing on people’s driveways.

“It’s a very sad state of affairs.

“I work hard and want to enjoy the fruits of my labour, but this makes me wonder is it really worth the hassle?

“I’ve spoken to a lot of my neighbours and a lot of them say the same thing: if you live in Redbridge and you’ve got nice things, you’d better not show them off.

“We don’t want to live in a society where we have to hide our achievements away.”

Mr Haneef is also urging his neighbours to be more vigilant when it comes to fighting off potential burglars.

He added: “If more people have cameras and the thieves know that, they won’t do it.

“Don’t be afraid of asking strange people who turn up at your house what they’re doing there.

“I know some people might be scared, but they can’t keep doing this again and again."