A day out at Legoland with his family proved more expensive than he had thought for GP Hassan Ali Khan - when he returned to his car to find someone had stolen the Catalytic Converter.

This is a vital exhaust emission control device that reduces toxic gases and pollutants in exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine.

Mr Khan, who had travelled from Southampton for the day out with his children Ayshah, 8 and Ranah, 7 and their cousin Arssh, 5, said: "My car sounded like a tractor as I started it.

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"I wondered if something had malfunctioned on my exhaust but a gentleman ran over to me and told me the same thing had happened to his car and that someone had stolen his Catalytic Converter.

"On a Sunday evening in an era of Covid Pandemic with no sight of anyone to help I was forced to drive home slowly depending on the electric component of my hybrid engine."

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Doctor Khan had to wait four weeks for a new part to arrive from Japan.

He says he has been unable to get through to anyone at Legoland to complain but says that over paying £10 to park all day he feels a better security service should have been provided.

He said: "Whoever did this would have had to put a jack under the car and it would have taken a good five minutes."

Catalytic Converter theft is said to be closely linked to the prices of Rhodium and Palladium, both rare metals that are contained within the converters.

A Legoland Windsor Resort spokeswoman said: “The safety of our guests’ vehicles while parked at Legoland Windsor is extremely important to us and we were concerned to hear about the incident involving Mr Khan’s car. Our security team and the community support team from Windsor and Maidenhead Council carry out regular patrols of all of our car parks and we work closely to support the local police with any investigations when required.

“We’re very sorry that Mr Khan has had difficulty contacting us following his visit and our team are getting in touch with him as a matter of urgency.”