Facebook car theft detective Kirsty King gets £150 police bill

A woman who turned amateur detective and found her stolen car through Facebook was handed a £150 bill by police.

Kirsty King's Audi turned up in Nottinghamshire less than 24 hours after it was taken when her online plea for help was shared hundreds of times.

When she went to collect it she found police had already recovered the car and demanded £150 for its return.

Police said the fee was mandatory under the law, but it would review the case.

Ms King, who is five months pregnant, posted her Facebook plea for help after her house in Leicestershire was broken into and her car was stolen.

Within a few hours a woman called to tell her the Audi was parked on a street in Stapleford, Nottinghamshire, and also alerted police to its whereabouts.

The hairdresser said the police were told she wanted to collect the vehicle, but when she went, taking the spare key and documents to prove it was hers, she found it had already been removed.

She said an officer was waiting for her at the scene to hand her paperwork, but later discovered the £150 charge to have it released.

"I didn't understand what I was paying for. I didn't organise the pickup. I was already in Stapleford with my spare key, I could have just taken it," she said.

"It was disgusting, I was really shocked. Especially when I did the majority of the work myself.

"I was the one that shared it on Facebook and found my car, so to get a bill of £150 is terrible."

But the force said it first heard about the Audi after a report of an abandoned vehicle.

Checks confirmed it was stolen and when an officer visited the scene a forensic examination was ordered.

"At this point, neither the officer nor the force control room had received any indication that the owner of the vehicle had intended to collect it herself," a spokesman said.

He added that vehicle recovery fees are set out by law, external but that in this case officers will review what happened and speak to Ms King.