Ute stolen with two-year-old inside in Vic

A Victorian father is in shock after his ute was stolen with his two-year-old son inside.

Dave Gleeson said he left his son in his Toyota ute with the keys in the ignition for a couple of minutes at an address in Sebastopol near Ballarat on Sunday, before the car was gone.

Police say the vehicle was driven off at 5.45pm, before being dumped 20 minutes later with the boy still inside, uninjured.

Mr Gleeson said while it was only 20 minutes, "it felt like three hours".

"I was just in shock," he told the Nine Network.

Detective Sergeant Steven Howard said the boy was able to help police with a description of the thieves.

"We couldn't get too much out of the two-year-old boy, but he did happen to say that there was two people involved," he told Nine News.

"He referred to one of them sitting mummy's seat and the other one sitting in daddy's seat."

The offenders are still on the run, with police appealing to the public for any information.

Mr Gleeson has warned others not to leave their children unattended.

"You just can't leave you kids or your keys in the car because it will happen," he said.