Blackburn motorists are urged to lock up their cars (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Blackburn motorists are urged to lock up their cars

5:00pm Monday 29th October 2012 in News

A SPATE of thefts have seen thieves targeting unlocked cars.

Motorists in Blackburn and Darwen are being urged not to tempt thieves by leaving their cars unlocked with property on display.

The warning comes after a spate of incidents where thieves have deliberately targeted insecure cars.

Last month out of 96 thefts from cars in Blackburn, 42 were from unlocked or insecure cars — almost 44 per cent. And out of 36 thefts from vehicles in Darwen, 18 had been left insecure.

Patrols have been stepped up and police are reminding people to follow simple measures to avoid falling victim to car crime.

Inspector Abid Khan said: “Having your car broken into is costly and inconvenient but the chance of it happening can be significantly reduced if people simply make sure their vehicle is locked and remove valuables from display.

“The number of car break-ins reported to us remains quite low and we carry out regular targeted patrols to deter thieves. However, almost 50 per cent of all theft from cars last month happened as a result of people leaving their cars unlocked and in many cases, with expensive items including sat navs, mobile phones and lap tops on display.

“Make sure that you wind windows up and lock the doors when you get out of your car — even if you are only popping into a shop.

“Don’t leave items on display –— you may think that the few pence you’ve left out isn’t worth taking but anything can prove to be temptation. If a thief sees something that may be of value they will take their chances – especially if you have made it easy for them by leaving your vehicle unlocked.

“Remove valuables from the car and get rid of any signs – such as suction marks on the windscreen or MP3 cables or a thief may assume you have stored them in the glove box.”