Carjacker steals student’s coursework

Fully comprehensive car insurance is of no help to one student car crime victim who had her entire final-year dissertation stolen.

Liz Murphy, an undergraduate art student from Leeds, was travelling back home for Christmas when a hooded thief shovedher out of the car and drove away. The purple VW Polo was later recovered by police with only minor damage, but of Liz’s belongings there is no sign.

As well as her 6,000-word dissertation, the carjacker also made off the student’s text books, research notes, art work, clothes and a bag full of dirty laundry that she was bringing home for her mum to wash. The items were all packed in suitcases on the back seat of the car, and some of her belongings were bought on a recent trip to China making them irreplaceable.

Despite explaining the circumstances to her insurance company, house and car insurance policies have failed to cover the cost of her personal possessions and so as well as totally re-writing her dissertation, Liz now faces the prospect of forking-out for a completely new set of clothes.

Talking about her lost coursework, Miss Murphy said, “It’s going to be really difficult. It’s not like I can just start again with my notes.

“My artwork is of no use to them but it is something I have worked on for three years. It is a progression as mywork has developed.”

The distraught student is yet to meet with university tutors to discuss the dilemma, but she will definitely be unableto meet the looming deadline for her dissertation. And with her carinsurance policy not covering the value of the lost items, a sizeable chunk of Liz’s next student loan is going to be diverted away from the union bar and instead have to be spent on a new wardrobe.

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