Paul Handley’s ute in Winston Hills stolen as top-selling utes and SUVs are taken across Australia

Paul Handley’s ute was stolen in Winston Hills. But he’s not alone. See where crims are stealing top top-selling utes now.

Paul Handley was “absolutely devastated” when his customised red Holden Kingswood ute was stolen.

It wasn’t only he was uninsured — they no longer make the HQ ute he had spent eight years rebuilding from the ground up.

“I have countless hours of labour put into it,” he said in a post on social media, pleading to be reunited with the customised ute, worth up to $20,000.

Mr Handley is not alone in his despair, with top-selling utes the hot ticket for thieves, now accounting for 17 per cent of the more than 35,000 vehicles stolen across the country.

Australia wide last year there were 8,129 utes and light commercial vans stolen worth a total of $116,709, 355.

Popular model SUVs were the second-most targeted vehicle, after passenger vehicles which remain at the top of the list, according to the latest data collected by the National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council (NMVTRC).

Have you see this ute? Paul Handley had his beloved Holden Kingswood ute stolen from outside his home on Rudyard Street, Winston Hills, NSW. Picture: Supplied

Mr Handley’s ute was stolen from Rudyard Street in Winston Hills, Sydney about 3am on May 22.

The distinctive car with the number plate CR96BB was tracked by toll cameras along the M2 and the M7 and where it was driven off at Bent Street St Marys. where it was last seen near the Dunheved Industrial Park.

CCTV from Mr Handley’s neighbourhood also shows three youths in a white VF Holden Commodore with Green P plates who came to help the thief when he ran out of petrol in the ute.

After posting on social media, Mr Handley received a number of anonymous tip-offs with the names of people possibly involved in the theft. Mr Handley said he has passed on all the information to police.

“I have been persistent in getting the word out there,” he said.

While the number of ute thefts across the country has dropped slightly during the pandemic, down from 9942 from the previous year, those that were stolen have had a devastating effect on their owners who have posted about their loss on a range of social media pages dedicated to finding the treasured vehicles.

According to its 2020-2021 annual report, the NMVTRC reported in NSW the most thefts across all vehicles were from Blacktown and Newcastle.

Overall Queensland had the highest number of short term thefts of all vehicles at 10,310. Victoria followed with 8834 thefts, then NSW with 7763, WA at 4155.

South Australia had 1958, the ACT had 989 thefts, TAS 729, and the Northern Territory had 499.

The top theft makes and models for the year are the Ford Ranger PXMY 11+, the Toyota HiLux MY05-11 + and, Toyota HiLux MY12-15

The top target for van thefts is the Toyota Hiace MY05 19.

Mr Handley said he has to accept that his Kingswood ute is likely long gone but it doesn’t stop him hoping he might one day get it back.

Originally published as Paul Handley’s ute in Winston Hills stolen as top-selling utes and SUVs are taken across Australia