CRIME gangs and identity thieves could be responsible for a spate of terrifying carjackings where lone female drivers have been attacked.

Twelve women have been targeted across Stockport in the space of just eight weeks. Most of the attacks have been carried out by two masked men, dressed all in black.

The most recent incident was on Friday when a 35-year-old woman was hit on the back of the head with a weapon as she walked towards her Renault Megane 225 Sport on Wilmslow Road, Cheadle.

Two masked men demanded the keys and drove off in it.

Four days earlier, a 40-year-old woman was dragged from her car, also a Renault Megane 225 Sport, by two masked men armed with baseball bats. Fearing for her safety, she handed them the keys.

A few weeks earlier, a woman, in her 40s was grabbed from behind on the driveway of her home in Napier Road, Heaton Moor, by a man demanding the keys to her black Audi TT.

Target

Some of the stolen vehicles have been recovered, while others are still missing. Police said the thieves often target high-powered cars to use in other crimes such as armed robbery or to steal documents so they can clone a person's identity.

Officers are now warning motorists to be extra-vigilant and if confronted to hand over the keys and try to remember as many details as possible about the incident and offender.

Det Con Glen Draper, of Stockport CID, said: "We are concerned about a rise of carjackings. We can't conclusively link all the crimes, but the last two have almost certainly been committed by the same people.

"We would ask motorists to be vigilant and to follow a few simple steps to lessen the risk of falling prey to this sort of crime."

Click here to see a map of where the attacks have taken place.

Anyone with information should contact police on 0161 856 9823 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.