Samara Hussain, aged 15, from Rotherham, was driven around Birmingham by the gang at breakneck speed before they finally dumped the car at the side of the road.

When she protested that the car was being driven too fast the gang threatened to kill her.

The teenager, a pupil at Winterhill School in Rotherham, was on her way to a Muslim religious festival when mum Safinna nipped into a shop with her 14-year-old sister Zulekha and great aunt Azra Begum to buy ice cream.

Just seconds later, two yobs leapt into the Toyota Yaris and drove off with the terrified girl still inside.


Samara, who has been blind since birth, did not know she was being kidnapped until she said to the driver: "Auntie you are driving too fast." And one of the yobs yelled back: "Shut up or we will kill you."

Another man jumped in later, and told the shocked and confused girl to get out of the car.

"When she said she was blind and did not know where she was, the men started shouting at her and grabbing her by the throat.

After the car had been dumped, following a nightmare ride around the Sparkbrook area of Birmingham, a passing motorist spotted terrified Samara and called the police.

Her frantic family were waiting desperately for news and Safinna feared her daughter would be found dead. Samara spent a week in hospital and is still receiving counselling.

Today the family were staying with relatives in Goole before returning home to Rotherham.

Safinna, a single mum-of-four, said: "We were coming back from a two-day religious festival.

"It was a lovely sunny day so I decided to pop into a supermarket to get ice creams.

"I had barely got to the first aisle when I heard my aunt and Zulekha screaming outside. That was the first I knew something was wrong - I hadn't heard the car being driven away.

"My aunt did leave the keys in the ignition but you never expect something like this to happen in broad daylight. They were in tears."

She added: "Samara told me after that she didn't realise anything was wrong at first. She just thought it was Azra .

"She started crying and screaming but they kept telling her to shut up and threatening to kill her.

"They drove around for an hour, picking up another man on the way, but then one of them said,''Come on, let's dump the car and go'.

"They left it in someone's drive about a mile away from where they took it.

"I don't know why they did it. It was the worst hour of my life. I was yelling and screaming and crying.

"After an hour the police said they had found her and I thought she would be dead.

"But they drove us to the road and there she was.

"It was incredible to see her again, we cried and cried."

A spokeswoman for West Midlands Police said: "Police were called following reports a vehicle had been stolen with a 15-year-old girl still inside.

"The car was recovered a short time later with the girl still inside unharmed. The matter is currently being investigated.


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