A MUM whose car was stolen with her three-year-old daughter inside had to fork out £150 to get the vehicle back.
Part-time courier Sarah McDonald-Lee was delivering a parcel at a customer's address when an opportunist thief jumped behind the wheel of her Vauxhall Zafira and roared off down a suburban street - with her daughter Sophie strapped in the back seat.
Devastated Sarah collapsed with joy when the missing car was found abandoned a mile away 20 minutes later with Sophie safe and well.
Cops who rushed to help were full of compassion, and did everything they could to comfort Sarah and her daughter.
But the recovery firm hired by police to retrieve the car for forensic examination later dispatched a terse letter to the tearful 30-year-old mum complaining the vehicle had been obstructing a cycle path at the side of the road, and holding her responsible for the cost of their services.
Sarah and her husband Dan - a policeman until four years ago - had to fork out £150 before staff at the compound agreed to release their family car.
The angry couple then had to pay a professional cleaning company an extra £40 to get the fingerprint dust removed.
Today Sarah blasted Nottinghamshire Police for refusing to waive the charges and said: "I feel I've been treated really badly - more like a common criminal than the victim of a terrible crime.
"If the police want someone to pick up the bill they ought to track down the thief and make him pay. He's the one who stole the car and dumped it so it was obstructing the cycle path, not me.
"Charging me £150 to get my own car back from the police is scandalous, and just adds insult to injury after all I've been through."
Sarah and her 27-year-old husband, who now works as a fire engineer, have lodged a complaint with the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
She added: "I thought there had been some mistake when I read the letter asking for £150, and threatening to charge me £20 a day storage fees for the car.
"But the police refused to waive the bill when I spoke to them, and said it was all covered by their policy."
The car was stolen as Sarah made a delivery in Retford, North Nottinghamshire.
"I blame myself for leaving the key in the ignition," she said. "I know lots of mums do it all the time, especially when you're at someone's door and you can see the car at the end of the path, but I'll never do it again.
"The thief actually looked directly in my face as he jumped into the car. I was screaming and he must have heard me, but he just stared at me with a blank expression and tore away down the road going really fast with smoke pouring from the wheels."
A police spokesman confirmed inquiries were still underway to track down the wanted man, and said the force had a set policy requiring owners to pay when abandoned vehicles are recovered from the roadside.
He added: "These matters are set down in legislation, and our policies are probably in line with other forces."
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