Security footage has captured a man smashing a car window and making off with a laptop inside - and its owner has turned to social media to identify him.

The video shows the man approach the car and use a torch to look inside. He walks away for a few minutes but returns, smashes the rear window and takes the laptop from the back seat.

The victim's private security camera filmed the incident at around 3am on Thursday on Triq l'Abate Rigord in Ta' Xbiex.

He and his relatives shared pictures and video of the incident on Facebook in an effort to track down the thief.

“If anyone knows who he is, or can help in anyway please pm me or contact your local police station,” wrote the man, who asked not to be named..

He also shared a map from a tracking app that located his laptop in Sliema at around 10am.

Police confirmed they received a report of the theft. 

The victim told Times of Malta he thought the man had used a specialised device to access the car. 

‘The CCTV footage shows that the person breaking into the car had a device that is made for the purpose of breaking into cars,” he said.