British man accidentally buys his own stolen car for Rs 22 lakh

In a bizarre incident, a British man ended up buying his own car for Rs 22 lakh.

Ewan Valentine, a 36-year-old software engineer from Solihull in the West Midlands, had a strange and surprising experience.

In February, someone stole his black Honda Civic right from his driveway. He reported the theft, but was told by the police that it was unlikely they’d find the car.

Later, his insurance company gave him money for the stolen car, and he used it to buy another black Honda Civic for 20,000 pounds (Rs 22 lakh).

But after he bought it, he started to notice some strange things.

The car had the same small details as his old one—like a tent peg, pine needles, and chocolate bar wrappers that hadn't been cleaned out, reports BBC.

"It was sort of a mid-life crisis car, and you don't get many of those, so I was pretty determined to get it replaced before one day I have to get a sort of family car. I spotted one that was identical, same colour, same year, same slightly obnoxious exhaust system on it as well," he said.

"It fit the bill precisely. I started noticing things in the car were a little bit odd, like a single tent peg and some Christmas tree pines and some, like, Mars bar wrappers and things that they hadn't cleaned out," he said.

Even though the car had a new number plate and showed fewer miles, Ewan became suspicious.

He confirmed it when he checked the car's built-in GPS and found his home and his parents’ addresses saved in it.

That’s when he realised, he had accidentally bought back his own stolen car.  He said he was shocked and couldn’t believe it. His hands were shaking and his heart was pounding.

At first, he felt proud, like he had won something—but then he realised it had not been good deal.