THE hunt is continuing for a car thief who mowed down a BMW owner as he tried to prevent it being taken.

Abu Satia, 27, sustained ‘serious leg injuries’ when the thief drove his £35,000 black 335 model over him as he was visiting RI Tyres in Whalley Banks, Blackburn at 2.30pm on Tuesday.

Police said they later found the car abandoned in the Farnworth area of Bolton at around 8.45pm on Tuesday.

MORE TOP STORIES:

No arrests have yet been made by police.

Yesterday Mr Satia remained in Royal Preston Hospital and was preparing for a skin graft on his legs due to take place last night.

The crush injuries to his legs were described as ‘traumatic’ but his family said that fears he may lose a leg had been ruled out.

Mr Satia’s brother Umar, 26, said: “Abu’s condition is a lot better than we first feared.

“He’s sat up in bed and is able to talk and we’ve even seen a smile from him.

“All our family are so relieved at this as we were horrified when we first heard what had happened.

“It’s of less importance but we’ve got the car back undamaged apart from it needing new brake pads which I think is because it was driven irresponsibly by the person who nicked it.

“It was found near the Porsche garage on Manchester Road in Farnworth.

“We’ve had hundreds of people sharing our appeal for information and all of us and Abu wants to thank them.”

CCTV footage of the moment the car was taken shows a man in a ‘hi-vis’ vest walk across the forecourt, climb into the car, with its engine running , and reverse into the road.

Staff from RI Tyres and Mr Satia ran out of the garage to try to prevent the theft, but as the car sped away Abu was caught under the wheels.

Police are urging anyone with information to call 101.