A 29-YEAR-OLD MAN has been arrested over the theft of a car that had a young girl asleep on the back seat.

The man, who has not been charged, was arrested on suspicion of theft, burglary and false imprisonment. He is now in police custody.

The incident sparked a citywide search by dozens of police after the £25,000 Range Rover was taken while the two-and-a-half-year-old girl's mother was taking in the shopping.

The girl was still strapped in her car seat as the thief - who is believed to have had an accomplice in a car following - sped off in Headington on Tuesday afternoon.

Urgent appeals for help to trace the Range Rover with blacked-out windows were made and it was found dumped in Osler Road in Headington about half an hour after it was stolen.

The little girl was still in her seat and was not hurt.