Ingoldisthorpe man Ian Dudding scammed into selling BMW for less than £4,000 by London trio

A former army Major has been left “stunned” after a car scam saw him sell his BMW for thousands of pounds less than it is worth.

Ian Dudding, 78, agreed to meet with a potential buyer at his home in Ingoldisthorpe after advertising his car for sale at £16,500 online.

Three men from London arrived and “instantly fell for the car”, he told the Lynn News. They asked to look at the vehicle documents, which were inside his home.

Mr Dudding believes it was at this point the “scam” took place, with one of the men squirting black oil into his exhaust.

Following a test drive, a lift of the bonnet led to a loud bang and smoke billowing from the BMW.

Mr Dudding, an ex-military man of 40 years, says he “panicked” after the men told him it was damaged beyond repair.

However, they informed him one of their wives had the same model of car which had a working engine that could be fitted into his.

He therefore offered them his car for £11,000 - but eventually gave it away for even less.

“They offered me £4,000, which under pressure I took. That was paid in cash but was £60 short, so that deal was not legal,” Mr Dudding said.

“After this terrible crime, within minutes I walked up to the lane where their car was - and not a sign of oil on the road or from my car. I felt positively sick.

“My wife was in bits but I calmed her down.”

The pensioner believes his case bears striking similarities to that of a Runcton Holme couple who were also asked to sell a BMW - worth an estimated £14,500 - but ended up only getting £3,000 after being victims of a “distraction”.

That vehicle was advertised on an official buy and sell site and the couple received a call from a man in East London interested in it.

Three men turned up to view the car on January 27, checking it inside and out, and asked to see the vehicle’s documents.

They asked for a test drive and, within five minutes, thick black smoke was belching out of the exhaust pipe.

Mr Dudding believes his case is not being treated as seriously as this one was, despite the similarities.

He has been in contact with both Norfolk Police and the Metropolitan Police regarding the issue.

“We are investigating and have a number of lines of enquiry,” a Norfolk Police spokeswoman said.

“There have been several similar incidents across the wider area and we are looking at potential links.”