A TRAIN smashed into a stolen car left abandoned on the railway track and now police are hunting for the thief who caused the chaos.

The BMW X5 was stolen from the Mini plant in Cowley, at around 5.10pm on the evening of May 6 and was hit by a freight train the next morning. 

READ about the chaos here. 

Now Thames Valley Police have released a CCTV image of a man they want to speak to seven months after the incident. 

At the time police said they were investigating a theory that the car was taken from the factory in Cowley and driven along the tracks before abandoning it – which if it proves to be true means the driver would have travelled for about two miles down the track before reaching near Sandford Road where it was hit at about 6.30am. 

Police did not say how the car gained access to the track, which is part of the Cowley Branch Line and used by BMW only. 

Detective sergeant George Atkinson, based at St Aldates police station said: "We believe this man in the CCTV image may have vital information of the offence."

Anybody who recognises the man should call 101 quoting the reference number 43190136085.