A terrified mother was forced to plea with masked carjackers disguised as police not to take her five-year-old son as they ­attempted to steal her brand new £30,000 BMW with him in it.

The woman from Rainham, in her 20s, was driving her son home at night last Friday (May 9) as he needed his medication for a rare heart disorder.

At about 10.30 she pulled over to a dark coloured car with blue flashing lights on Dagenham Road, Dagenham, her believing it to be an unmarked police car.

She pulled over and opened her door and was approached by a group of men with thick Irish accents who demanded her to get out of her car. One of them stuck his foot in the door to prevent her shutting it.

The mother, who did not want to be named due to fear of reprisals, spoke to the Recorder about the ordeal.

“I pleaded don’t hurt me, I’m on my own with my child,” she said.

“I screamed ‘I’ve got my little boy in the car’.

“It was awful, my heart sunk and I kept thinking what if they hit me and drive off with my son in the car, what could’ve happened? It makes me feel sick thinking of it. It was terrifying.”

At that point the would-be carjackers bickered among themselves.

“One was being quite nice and said ‘let her go she’s got a baby in the car’ but the other said ‘just get on with it’.

“If I didn’t have my little boy they would have definitely hurt me to get me out of my car.”

They made her promise not to call the police before speeding off in their car.

She bravely drove off to her mother’s house where she promptly called the police.

Her son had been asleep the whole time and still does not know anything happened.

“I was in a complete state of shock,” the victim said.

“My son has a life-threatening condition and needs his tablets from home. It would’ve been serious without his tablets.

“I hope they catch them before they target someone else.

“I won’t be out late at night driving any more.”

A police spokesman said: “Police would advise any driver who is concerned about stopping at the request of another car to continue to drive to a public place before stopping or to drive to a police station.

“It is not believed to be the car stolen in Brentwood last month.”

Police sent officers and a helicopter to search for suspects but have made no arrests.

Contact Havering CID on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 if you have any information.