Woman in carjack terror

The 51-year-old driver had stopped her Jaguar X-Type at the junction of Comiston Springs Avenue and Pentland Terrace at around 6.20pm yesterday when she was approached by a skinny man with crooked teeth.

The man threatened her and forced her out of the vehicle before making off in it, leaving her badly shaken but unhurt.

It is understood it was implied he had a weapon but one was not seen.

Police conducted door-to-door inquiries at the houses surrounding the junction.

They have not yet revealed whether the victim was local to the area.

Residents said the street is used as an unofficial "park-and-ride" during the week by commuters.

Comiston Springs Avenue resident Duncan Robertson, 55, a taxi driver, said that despite the street being in an affluent residential area, there have been problems with crime in the past.

He said: "I was out in the taxi when the carjacking took place so I didn't see anything, but coincidentally I saw the licence plate popping up on the in-car communication system that the police use to alert us to vehicles that they would like us to look out for.

"According to the alert the police said the last place it was seen was on the A9, so he might have been driving it north.

"It's the first time we've had anything like this on the street, but we do have a bit of vandalism from kids coming into the area.

"I watched a couple of neds being chased through the street by police throwing drugs into the gardens. They were back down the next day looking for the drugs they had lost.

"There's a homeless shelter on Oxgangs Avenue, and while I wouldn't like to say that this is where all the crime is coming from, you do often see them passing through the street on the way to the shelter."

A police spokesman said: "Fortunately the woman was not injured as a result of this incident. Nevertheless, she was left shaken and we are treating this extremely seriously.

"Anyone who witnessed this incident and has information that can help us locate the suspect is asked to contact police immediately."

The stolen car's registration number is N9 PDS.

The suspect is described as a white male, 5'8", 25-years-old, of skinny build, Scottish accent, with crooked teeth, clean shaven, short, dark brown or black hair wearing a dark jacket and cream jumper.

The incident comes less than six weeks after 36-year-old library assistant Stephen Hoggan was dragged along the road while hanging on to the door of his stolen car.

Mr Hoggan left his car unlocked on Lutton Place, in Newington, for a few moments to put his two-year-old son Matthew into the car when the thieves struck.

And in January two car thieves made off with a BMW with a three-year-old child in the back.

The car was stolen on Willowbrae Road and the child was found safe and well in the car half a mile away just 15 minutes later.