AN UNLUCKY Penarth cabbie was horrified to see hooded thieves make off with his taxi when he went into a hotel to look for his fare.

The driver, who works for the Penarth cab firm K-Tax, was picking up a fare from the Glendale Hotel on Plymouth Road opposite the Railway Pub.

He went into the Glendale Hotel to look for his fare but left the car keys in the ignition.

When he came back out of the building he saw his car disappearing off up Plymouth Road.

A member of staff at the hotel saw two hooded men getting into the vehicle.

The theft took place at around 10.45pm last Friday night.

Gareth Williams, owner of K-Tax, based at Station Approach, is offering a reward of 250 to anyone able to help him retrieve the cab.

Gareth said: "The stolen vehicle is a Vauxhall Saphira people mover.

"It's registration number is AK04 YZC. It's only 18-months-old.

"It is white with a black bonnet and is registered as a hackney carriage licence number 103.

"It carried the K-Tax logo on the doors. We have 18 cars but this is the only one of its kind in our fleet.

"This obviously hasn't been planned," he added.

"It's someone who has taken a chance and has got away with it. It may have been joyriders. It could be lying up a back alley somewhere.

"If anyone is able to tell us where it is I would be more than happy to give them the reward money.

"Because the keys were left in the ignition it is unlikely that we will be able to make a claim from our insurance company."

A spokesman for Penarth police said that the vehicle has not yet been recovered.