A MAN has slammed cops, claiming they investigated the theft of his £30,000 BMW X5 for just 20 minutes.

Ray Sharman, 53, from Chelmsford, said thieves used a keyless device to steal his luxury car in the early hours of March 25.

He said he called police at around 4.30am to report the car stolen and was told a police officer would be in touch.

Ray claims the following day, he received two letters from the police – one letter opening the case and another closing it.

Ray, a commercial executive, said: “They delivered both letters at the same time, it came in the post – lucky I opened it in the right order otherwise I wouldn’t have read it correctly.

“It’s bizarre really isn’t it, what has probably happened is somebody has had a cheeky peek outside the window and couldn’t find it and then said we will send a letter to close it. They washed their hands with it, it is like they worked with us for 20 minutes.

“It was almost like the car has been stolen, here is your crime reference number and that is it.”

Essex Police said they haven’t closed the case “as any additional information received in relation to the incident will be looked into and investigated where appropriate.”

Ray’s wife Suzanne, who works in education, had called the police several times after receiving the letters to be told there were no updates despite them mentioning their neighbours had CCTV looking down their road.

He added: “They have done nothing, I don’t know what they have done. They just don’t want any unsolved cases on their records. Not one person has come round and said are you OK. Some people get emotional and scared about these things, there is no follow up.”

The parents of two boys, aged 25 and 20, have been living in Chelmsford for around 15 years and said they felt that crime in the area has “got worse” over time.

An Essex police spokesperson said: “We assess every call we receive according to threat, harm and risk posed, the vulnerability of those involved and the investigative opportunities available to us. This determines if crimes are allocated to an officer for further investigation. When a crime is filed, it means that there are currently no other lines of enquiries for our officers to follow up upon.

“It doesn’t mean that the crime has been closed as any additional information received in relation to the incident will be looked into and investigated where appropriate.”