A MAN forced out of his car at gunpoint by thieves says more people need to be aware of the threat of car-jackings.

The 30-year-old was picking up a friend from Stoneleigh Road, Clayhall, at around 6pm when he was approached by two men wearing scarves and hoods.

They stood either side of his car and one of them waved a gun at him before ordering him to get out.

The other man opened the driver’s door and pulled him out, before both men jumped in and drove off in the black Volkswagen Scirocco.

The driver – who is too scared to be identified – ran to safety and called police.

He said: “I hadn’t been parked there more than two minutes when they came over.

“The whole thing probably lasted only 30 or 40 seconds but it felt like a lifetime.

“You don’t expect to drive to meet your friends and have a gun pulled out on you.”

The shaken victim, from East Ham, said he feared, after speaking to police, that there may have been spate of car jackings in the area.

He said: “My friends who live in the area don’t know anything. People need to know that these type of incidents are going on near their homes and I don’t think they are aware.”

He is now too scared to return to the area and found it difficult to get back in a car. “I keep my doors locked all the time. You almost feel it was your fault,” he said.

The incident happened on November 4.

The thieves are described as black or dark skinned, about 25 years old and around 5ft 10in. They were wearing scarves and black jackets with their hoods up.

The number plate of the stolen car is MF60XXC.

Anyone with information can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.