A QUICK-THINKING scaffolder tracked down his stolen truck in Bradford in an hour - thanks to a hidden Apple AirTag.
Paul Conway's black Nissan Pathfinder was taken on Monday after one of his employees left it running when he nipped inside his house.
Paul, 46, immediately started shaking - but he then remembered he had a £29 Apple AirTag inside his vehicle.
An AirTag is a device which uses Bluetooth to track different objects such as keys, wallets, purses, vehicles and luggage.
Paul then jumped into his car and within an hour had tracked the vehicle in Bradford - around five miles from his house in Farsley.
He said: "I started shaking - I couldn't believe it as it is my pride and joy.
"I was just sat there shaking and I remembered I had the AirTag in my Pathfinder so I went on to the app and saw it heading out of Leeds and into Bradford.
"We followed the signal and phoned the police, who offered to drive me around looking for it.
"It was just there, hidden on a quiet residential street.
"I couldn't believe it."
Paul's wife Angela bought him the AirTag as a Christmas present in 2022 as he knows the Pathfinder is his "pride and joy".
He thought he would just use it to find his truck in a car park as he "never thought" it would get stolen.
Paul said: "She bought me a pack of four so I put some on my keys and then decided to put one inside the bodywork of the truck.
"I just thought I would use it if I parked somewhere and forgot where but I never thought it would get stolen."
Paul's employee left the keys in his Pathfinder so he doesn't think the theft would have been covered by his insurance, which means it would have cost him around £7,000.
He is now encouraging other drivers to put one in their vehicles, in case the same thing happens.
Paul, who owns Farsley Scaffolding, said: "I knew he left the keys on the seat so it wouldn't have been insured.
"So I would have been devastated if I hadn't got it back because I wouldn't have been covered for it.
"Loads of builders have said they are going to order them - I think I've done quite well for Apple's sales.
"There's even a scaffolding suppliers company who have heard what's happened and are offering free AirTags to customers."
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