Daren Messenger woke up to an early morning knock on the door from police and discovered his beloved car had been stolen and wrecked hours before. 

It's thought the blue 20-year-old BMW convertible was taken at about 4am today, and in the short distance from his Lechlade Road home to Queens Avenue where it was abandoned, the driver damaged at least seven other vehicles.

"Initially, police suspected I might have been the one driving the car," Daren, 56, said.  

He told the Adver he was breathalysed but it became clear he had been asleep in his bed when the car was taken.

He believed the thieves let themselves into his house through an unlocked back door and took the keys. 

Witnesses told him the car may have been stolen by two males and two females, all teenagers. They were spotted driving and colliding cars and fences along Turnpike Road, Lechlade Road, Orange Close and Queen's Avenue. 

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Images of Daren's car in its final resting place show damage in several places and a buckled front passenger-side wheel. 

"It was a really great car, a classic BMW convertible that I've had for years, and it's been totally wrecked. I have insurance so it's fine, but that car was irreplaceable really."

Daren's daughter Deanna, 18, has out an appeal on social media for witnesses and any potential CCTV footage from Ring doorbells 

"We’re all very annoyed. This was a family car, he has a second car but uses it solely for work as filled with tools, but this was a family car for holiday," she said.

"We used it to go shopping and he also used it to pick up my youngest sister from her mum. It’s a massive inconvenience and we are all very upset and annoyed and angry. We also feel unsafe as the keys were stolen from our property while we slept."

David Horsell, who lives on Queen's Avenue, was one of the vehicle owners whose car was damaged in the joyride, his Kia Sorrento has been taken away to be assessed. 

"That wasn't the best way to start a Saturday morning," he said. 

Wiltshire Police said: "We received report of a car, which had been stolen earlier in the evening, had been in collision with a number of other parked vehicles in Queens Avenue, Highworth in the early hours this morning.

"Our investigation is ongoing."