The son of a woman who had three cars stolen in six months has slammed police after they closed an investigation into the theft of his car after less than 12 hours.

Mason Brooks’ £25,000 BMW was taken from outside his home in Chester Road, Wanstead, some time between Sunday night and Monday morning.

The estate agent’s mother Christine, who lives in Dangan Road, has been the victim of three thefts since last August.

Last week she told the Guardian that she was unhappy with the police response to the crimes.

And Mr Brooks said: “It does make you wonder how much crime is going on.

“If our family has been a victim of four motor thefts how many other people in Wanstead are victims?

“Given the response I have had from the police I’m not surprised there is such a problem.”

While Redbridge police were quick to respond to Mr Brooks’ report of the theft he says he found his meeting with officers disheartening.

He explained: “They said they were just reporting agents basically and all they could do was log the crime.

“It was pretty clear they weren’t going to investigate the theft.”

Less than 12 hours after reporting his car missing, Mr Brooks received an email from Redbridge Police.

It said: “Your crime has been reviewed to see whether there are opportunities for further investigation to identify a suspect. 

“As part of this, we have taken into consideration whether forensic evidence exists and can be recovered; whether there are witnesses who can be identified; or whether there is CCTV that covers the actual location of the crime and is feasible for us to view.

“As a result, it has been concluded that at this time unfortunately there is insufficient information to proceed, and that the specific investigation into your crime will now be closed.”

Mr Brooks said: “I am not quite sure where I go from here.

“Is it just a given that people's belongings are open to theft from criminals and that our police force close the case without even doing door-to-door questioning?

“This sends out a very clear message to me, the public in general and more worryingly the criminals of this world.”