17 October 2002: A new car tracking an immobilisation system available from today will work throughout Europe and allows the owner of a car to immobilise it by a simple phone call, no matter where they are.

The system is called i-mob and is a step up from current 'tracker' systems in that it doesn't have a finite range. It costs just under £1,000 in Britain, and an annual £35 service charge includes recovery of any vehicle by the AA.

The system comes against the background of more than 340,000 cars being stolen a year in Britain, with increasing thefts of keys by burglars to get around the sophisticated and successful immobilising devices fitted by manufacturers.