The Dubbo South resident came home from work one evening with his car parked out the front of his house but just four hours later he was woken by the police, who told his car had been found burning on the road to Geurie.

Mr Suckling’s 2005 Subaru Impreza was insured but because the car has to be assessed by his insurance company, he is facing another couple of weeks before he will have a replacement.

“It’s been a major inconvenience. It’s probably going to be mid-May before I get a payout so my girlfriend and I are sharing one car,” Mr Suckling said.

“I came home about midnight and the car was parked out the front. 

“I went to bed and then woke up to police banging on the door at 4.20 in the morning, asking if I was missing a car. 

“I had no idea, I had been fast asleep but they told me it had been stolen and burned out.”

According to the Bureau of Crime Statistics, 185 cars were stolen in Dubbo in 2013, up from 150 in 2012. 

It is double the state average and the worst result for Dubbo since 2007 but still significantly better than 2004 and 2005, when a car a day was being stolen, on average.

Mr Suckling said police weren’t very confident they would be able to find the people who stole the car.

“Burnouts usually don’t have a very good chance of finding the culprit,” he said.

“It was still alight when it was found so it had to be extinguished by NSW Fire and Rescue so what didn’t get burned got washed away. 

“All they were able to recover was the front and back number plates.

“They don’t believe it was used in any smash and grabs.”

A lot of people in his neighbourhood have been broken into, according to Mr Suckling but until recently, he had avoided such problems. 

He believes his dogs act as a sufficient deterrent to break into his house. 

He said the theft has left him feeling more vulnerable.

“You don’t expect these sort of things to happen. Looking into a new car, I’m a bit hesitant to buy something nice because it could be attractive to break into,” he said.