[P]OLICE are appealing for witnesses following two incidents at service stations in Forton and Carnforth.
The first incident happened shortly before midday today (Wednesday, July 26) when a 60-year-old woman was sitting in the passenger side of a Range Rover Evoque in the car park at Forton Services Northbound.
A man got into the car and made threats towards her. She managed to get out of the car and raise the alarm and the man left the vehicle before making off from the scene in a white transit van and headed north on to the motorway.
A second incident was reported shortly after 12.30pm today at Truck Haven Services in Carnforth.
An elderly woman was driving her black Volkswagen Polo into the services and was followed by a white van. As she parked up, a man got into the passenger side and demanded that she get out of the car. The woman got out and the man drove off in her Polo.
The man was described as white, 5ft 10in tall, big build, with very short or no hair and was described as wearing a light coloured T-shirt.
It is believed the stolen black Volkswagen Polo was in the Ulverston area at 2.20pm this afternoon and detectives are keen to hear from anyone who may have seen it. The registration number of the Volkswagen Polo is PN14 OEK.
DI Andy Ellis said: “Both these incidents must have been extremely frightening for both women and thankfully they were not seriously injured. While we are at an early stage of our enquiries we believe these incidents could be linked and we are keen to trace the man described. If anyone was at either of these services around the time the incidents took place and witnessed what happened I would urge them to contact us as soon as possible. Similarly if you have seen the VW Polo since it was taken then please get in touch.”
Anyone with information can contact Lancashire Police on 101 quoting log 510 of July 26th.
Alternatively Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at Crimestoppers-uk.org.