It's your car or your life, theft victim is told

Stolen: The Honda Integra that was taken at knifepoint

By Robin Schiller

A teenager has told how he had his motor stolen at knifepoint by two thugs who told him: "Choose between your life or your car."

The Dubliner (19) was trying to sell his red Honda Integra DC2 Type R when the thieves struck.

He arranged to meet two prospective buyers at the Lidl store on the Longmile Road on Sunday. The vehicle had been put up for sale on DoneDeal for €5,450.

The two robbers, one described as "black with a Dublin accent" and the other of "eastern European descent", met him at the pre-arranged spot.

"They were asking different things about the car and it seemed like they were pretending to know what they were talking about," Niall told the Herald.

Despite feeling uneasy, he agreed to go on a test drive with them.

The car was driven up the Longmile Road and towards the Red Cow, where it then took a turn on to the M50.

"As we were driving along, the eastern European man kept asking me to use my phone. I told him I had no battery left in the phone," Niall said.

"He was being persistent. He asked about four or five times for my phone. Eventually, he turned to his friend in the back and said something to him."

After the Ballymount exit, one of the men produced a knife and ordered Niall out of the car.

The terrified victim was also told to hand over his phone while the blade was being held to his throat.

"All of a sudden the guy in the seat behind me pulled out a knife and held it to my throat," he said.

The thug also made a chilling threat, telling Niall to choose between "your car or your life".

The thieves then drove off in a southern direction.

A €500 reward has been offered to anyone with information that leads to the safe return of the car.

hnews@herald.ie