A video has been released showing the moment a man in Australia jumped into his car through the window in order to stop it being stolen by a would-be thief.

The CCTV footage, released by the Northern Territory Police on Wednesday 13 January, shows the unidentified owner parking and walking away from his sporty coupe at a petrol station in Malak, a suburb of Darwin. Moments later a second man approaches the vehicle from the opposite direction and enters it.

The owner comes dashing back before the thief can speed off with the car, leaping into the passenger window just as the as the vehicle starts to drive away and out of the view of the camera. The suspect is seen moments later running, on foot, away from the scene.

A Northern Territory Police spokesperson told Reuters the owner of the vehicle was not injured and the vehicle undamaged. There is an intense search for the offender, who they said remains at large with a long list of prior offences. In a statement on their Facebook police asked the public for information on the whereabouts of 24-year-old Timothy Slater in relation to the theft.