A JAGUAR driver whose £40,000 car was stolen from his driveway claims police told him to investigate the crime himself.

Kevin Standing said it is "unbelievable" Sussex Police have so far failed to act despite making two phone calls about the theft and suggesting lines of enquiry.

This follows news swathes of crimes would go uninvestigated to save money and cope with budget cuts and fewer officers.

It comes as a spate of car and motorbike thefts took place in Brighton in the last eight days.

The 58-year-old's racing green 2015 XF model vanished from outside his Patcham home on Saturday morning.

He looked outside to see his prized possession safely parked on his driveway in Old Farm Road at around 2am before going to bed.

But at 8am when his son Craig left the house the car had disappeared, even though it was locked, alarmed and under the glare of security lights.

Mr Standing dialled 101 to report the crime but said he was told "the only thing" officers could do was to wait for the car to drive past an ANPR car registration recognition camera - which are placed on roads around the country.

The 58-year-old said he asked "Is that it?" after no mention was made of officers being sent to his house to take a statement or a forensics team to look for clues.

He said: "I was left not really knowing what to do. I've never reported a crime before. I think it's an organised gang with electronic equipment, they didn't have the keys, they took it without a sound and without waking up next door's dogs.

"If they changed the registration plates the car wouldn't show up on the ANPR system. I thought maybe they just have too much car crime to deal with."

But he decided to phone again yesterday morning to see if anything had changed.

He reiterated a suggestion he made of obtaining CCTV footage from petrol stations.

The car only had around 30 miles of fuel left when it was taken and the thieves may have needed to stop.

He said: "They basically told me to investigate the crime myself.

"The call handler said the police wouldn't be able to go to the garages and look at the footage but said I could do that 'if I wanted' and let them know if I find anything.

"It's just unbelievable. They weren't interested.

"But why would a garage let me look at that sort of information?

"I feel like I will never see the car again."

Mr Standing is two years through a three year finance contract for the car which he paid extra for in order to have it painted the "iconic Jaguar British racing green". He said is insurer wants to know how police will investigate.

In September it emerged officers and staff now decide whether a crime is worth investigating based on the harm it has caused and the likelihood it will be solved.

Police had a "thorough" phone conversation with Mr Standing, a force spokeswoman said yesterday.

She added: "There is no CCTV at the property and the car doesn't have a tracking device. There was nothing left at the scene to help officers if they had attended the property."

Chief Inspector Bruce Mathews said "proportionate" enquiries had been completed and each case was "assessed individually" on how it would protect the most vulnerable.

He said: "Our investigations teams focus their efforts on the crimes which cause the most harm.

"Operating with new demands against a shrinking budget, we can't do everything but that doesn't mean we will be ruling out certain types of crime such as shoplifting or vehicle crime.

"We will continue to do so where there are lines of enquiry which could lead to the identification of a suspect.

"If no lines of enquiry exist then the crime will be recorded until any new evidence comes to light."