'Stowln' car pinched 

A Christchurch man who bought a personalised car licence plate STOWLN for a laugh, had the smile wiped from his face when his car was pinched from outside his house.

Nathan Attwood discovered his $17,000 Subaru Impreza WRX stationwagon was missing from his driveway on the morning of September 26.

"A while back me and a group of friends were sitting around thinking up great names for personalised plates, and someone came up with STOWLN," Mr Attwood, 24, said.

"When I got my car, I thought it would be hilarious to get the licence plate, so I bought it and put it on my car. It was so funny but I'm certainly not laughing now."

Subaru Impreza WRXs are ranked as the second-most-stolen car in New Zealand on the latest AA Insurance list of vehicles most likely to be taken by car thieves.

"When I bought the car, I knew it was a sought-after car (by thieves) but I got it alarmed and thought it was relatively safe.

"I had a $500 alarm system in there but somehow they managed to bypass it and take the car anyway," he said.

Mr Attwood said the irony of having a car with a number plate reading STOWLN pinched had not been lost on him, or his mates.

"When it first got stolen, I was pretty angry but I can see the funny side of it now. My friends have all been giving my sh..t about it as well, I don't think I will ever live it down," he said.