A STOLEN vehicle which was taken in a car-jacking incident has been returned to its rightful owner after being found in Radcliffe.

Police received reports of a suspicious vehicle and checks discovered the car was taken in a car-jacking in Birmingham.

Officers had a buyer of the car has been left "out of pocket" for its cost.

They have warned buyers to carry out checks or risk being victims of fraud.

A Greater Manchester Police Bury South spokesman said: "Radcliffe area team have attended reports of a suspicious vehicle which may or may not be stolen.

"The vehicle has been examined by members of our team and the vehicle was found to be bearing a false Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) which had been ground down on key areas of the vehicle.

"The team have used an electronic OBD reader to discover the true vehicle's registration and it was found to be an outstanding stolen vehicle which was taken by car jacking from Birmingham.

"Our police officers are constantly striving to find new and better ways of detecting and reducing crime as in this situation

"Unfortunately for the buyer of this vehicle, they are now out of pocket for the cost of the car.

"The car has now been returned to its rightful owner.

"Please make sure that if you do purchase a vehicle online then you do due diligence around the checks, otherwise you might find yourself a victim of fraud."