A thief who stole a car with two young children in the back knew they were in there, one of the kidnapped youngsters says.

The eight-year-old girl, who was trapped with her five-year-old brother, told the Recorder: “They knew we were in the car, I saw him look into my eyes.”

The pair were taken when mother Kavipriya Paladhanushan, 36, was picking up her 11-year-old son from a tuition session in Roman Road, Ilford, at 4.30pm on Sunday.

They were on the way to a friend’s barbecue.

She left the car to help him cross the road – and was only a few metres away – when a man jumped in the grey Audi and sped off towards Uphall Road with the two youngsters trapped inside.

Mrs Paladhanushan said it was her “worst nightmare”.

The older son ran after the thief and found his siblings had been dumped out of the car in nearby Fairfield Road, after an accomplice had leapt in.

Read the full exclusive interview with their kidnapped children in today’s Recorder.

If you have any information contact Redbridge Police on 101.