Father whose £13,000 Range Rover was stolen from Essex finds it 5,000 miles away in Tanzania

A father-of-three whose Range Rover was stolen from his driveway was 'gob-smacked' to spot a tracker connected the car 2 months aboriginal placing it 5,000 miles distant successful Tanzania.

James Munday, 44, said helium had expected ne'er to spot the £13,000 2014 Range Rover Vogue again aft thieves utilized an physics 'key' to unfastened it extracurricular his location successful South Woodham Ferrers, adjacent Chelmsford, Essex past November.

'I'd been moving connected my vessel precocious astatine night', said James, who operates boats successful the River Crouch adjacent his home.

'I parked up arsenic I ever bash and went to bed. When I got up, the car wasn't there, but we could spot truly grainy images of the lights flashing connected our CCTV camera.

'I had bought a fewer Apple Air Tags and enactment them successful immoderate of the household cars and pieces of luggage and erstwhile I looked astatine the tag for that car, it was disabled conscionable astatine the clip of the theft, astir 6am.

'I aboriginal recovered retired that was a information diagnostic of the tag aft women were having them placed successful their bags astatine nightclubs, allowing idiosyncratic to travel them home. Now you get a connection connected your telephone telling you there's a tag successful the adjacent vicinity and you tin disable it remotely.

I reported it to the constabulary but determination wasn't overmuch they could do, truthful I filed an security assertion and yet got the money. '

It wasn't until 2 months aboriginal successful February that James idly checked the tag connected his machine and to his astonishment, saw that it had someway reactivated.

'I was perfectly gob-smacked, conscionable staring astatine the surface successful disbelief,' helium told MailOnline successful an exclusive interview.

'I could spot that successful the intervening mates of months, the car had gone done the Suez Canal, down the Red Sea and into the Indian Ocean, crossing the Equator and ending up astatine the docks successful [Tanzanian capital] Dar-Es-Salam.

'I called my woman Claire and said 'you retrieve erstwhile you climbed Mount Kilimanjaro? Well, my car's beauteous overmuch ended up there!'

Ever since February, James has kept a adjacent oculus connected the car, and remarkably, the AirTag is inactive working.

'It's moved a bit, but I deliberation it's present determination adjacent a car dealership. As I've been paid by the insurers, it's not truly my car immoderate much anyway, but I'm inactive amazed that anyone went to each that occupation for a car that wasn't worthy that overmuch successful the archetypal place.'

After a fewer months, James posted a screenshot of his car's travel connected a Facebook radical called the Dull Men's Club – and was inundated with replies and interest.

'There were each kinds of radical commenting and a fewer approaches from the media,' helium said. 

'I'd been a subordinate for a fewer years, but had ne'er posted connected determination before. Usually it's radical trying to outdo themselves with the dullness of their posts, but I thought they would beryllium funny successful mine.

'Then aft a fewer hours, the station disappeared, truthful possibly it wasn't dull capable for the club!'

One facet of the theft which does inactive rankle with him though, is simply a chapeau helium near connected the backmost seat, which has sentimental value.

'I bought it arsenic portion of a matching brace with my dad,' helium said. 'It was a 1922 Bailey level cap, and I'd similar to beryllium reunited with it, and I can't ideate anyone wearing 1 successful Tanzania, truthful I'd similar that backmost if possible!'