A Cardiff woman has spoken of her devastation after her car was stolen from a residential street just days after she was taken to hospital with a suspected heart attack.
Majida Firdous, 30, from Roath, discovered her white Nissan Juke had disappeared from Arran Place on Thursday, October 15, after parking it there two days earlier. The car was a graduation gift from her parents in 2019 and holds significant sentimental value for her. She said the theft left her feeling "distressed" and "uncertain about what would happen next".
Theft discovered days after hospital visit
Majida believes the vehicle was stolen between the late hours of Wednesday, October 14, and the early hours of Thursday, October 15. She initially thought she had forgotten where she had parked before realising the car had been taken.
"It was just confusion at first because it is difficult to believe that someone had stolen it." She reported the theft to South Wales Police around 30 minutes after discovering the vehicle was missing.
The incident came just days after Majida was in hospital on Tuesday, October 13, with a suspected heart attack. She said she was relieved the episode was not life-threatening. The car theft also occurred one day before her 30th birthday on Friday, October 16.
Sentimental value and loss of independence
"It's been really difficult and devastating, really," she said. "It's just the shock of discovering that the car's just disappeared. And then I worried so much about where it could be, whose hands it could be in and if it's damaged, if anything's happened to it. The uncertainty of whether it will be recovered or not is just a horrible feeling.
"It's not just money. It was a big gift from my family. They spent a lot of their savings on it as well, and it was a graduation gift, so it's very sentimental to me."
She also described the loss of independence that comes with being without a vehicle, particularly when trying to secure employment. Majida's contract in a government role as a DWP case manager in Pontypridd ended last month, and she is currently looking for work while developing her small crochet business, Fluffle Crochet. She said buying another car while looking for employment is difficult, particularly as some employers ask whether applicants can drive.
Wider concern about vehicle thefts
Majida believes her experience may reflect a wider concern about vehicle thefts, saying her brother's car was stolen in July 2026 before being recovered following what she described as a joyriding incident.
"It doesn't affect just the person you do it to. It affects our families, and especially if someone has kids to take them to school and back and forth," she said.
Majida is not the only Nissan Juke owner in Cardiff to have been affected, with another man in Llanedeyrn reporting that his vehicle was stolen from outside his home on Sunday, October 18.
Second Nissan Juke theft in Cardiff
The man, who asked to remain anonymous, said he had returned from an MOT appointment at around 1pm on Saturday, October 17, and parked the car by the rear gate of his property as he had done for more than five years. He said the vehicle was still there when a delivery driver arrived later that afternoon but had vanished by Sunday when his wife called him at work.
The man said he has lived at his Llanedeyrn home since 2015 without experiencing any trouble or similar incidents. "We looked after it. We serviced it on time, MOT, whatever – you name it. You look after the car and the car looks after you – and suddenly one day you wake up in the morning, the car is gone," he said.
He said he keeps his keys inside the house, around seven to eight metres from where the car was parked, but believed thieves could potentially use technology to capture the key's signal.
A South Wales Police spokesman said: "We know that being a victim of car crime is upsetting, costly and an inconvenience. It's particularly distressing when you are a repeat victim. When offences are reported we explore all opportunities to identify those responsible."
