A woman who pulled over to scrape ice from her windscreen had her car stolen after she was pushed to the ground.
Police are appealing for information after the theft at around 12.30pm yesterday near the Showcase cinemas in Nantgarw. The silver Peugeot 307 was stolen from Heol Yr Odyn road and was driven off in the direction of Caerphilly.
The lone driver of the vehicle had just loaded it with goods after visiting the Makro store.
The vehicle was recovered a short time later after it had been abandoned on Nantgarw Road and the high value goods, which included a TV, had been taken.
The thief, described as “good-looking” and possibly in his 20s by a witness, was wearing a distinctive pink t-shirt.
DI Paul Latham said: “This was a traumatic incident which has left the victim extremely shaken. Although extremely rare, and not connected with any other incident at this stage, we would urge people loading and unloading valuable goods into vehicles whilst Christmas shopping to be extra vigilant.
“We are examining CCTV from the area, but at this stage we do not know if the person responsible had an accomplice, and whether any other vehicle was involved,” he added.
Anyone who may have noticed a man wearing a distinctive pink t-shirt in Parc Nantgarw or on Nantgarw Road between 12pm and 2pm should contact Pontypridd CID via 101 or Crimestopppers on 0800 555 111.