Thieves seek easy pickings from parked cars

There have been nearly 20 such offences in Humberside Police’s A Division in the last two weeks, with thieves even forcing their way into vehicles to steal loose change, although expensive items have also been taken.

Most of the offences occurred in the Grant Thorold area of Cleethorpes and involved parked and unattended vehicles.

Officers are asking residents to be vigilant while urging motorists not to leave anything on view that may tempt thieves.

Det Chief Insp Gerry Darling said: “We have had around 19 reported incidents over the last two weeks in which thieves have crudely broken into vehicles when they have been parked up in order to steal items from within.

“The items stolen have ranged from sat-navs to loose change suggesting the thief or thieves are simply looking to get in and out of the vehicles as quickly as they can and steal anything which could earn them a bit of easy cash.”

Mr Darling said uniformed officers were patrolling the area in a bid to deter and catch those responsible, while also identifying vehicles deemed to be at risk.

Police intend to contact the owners of these vehicles to offer advice.

Mr Darling said: “An investigation is underway to try and identify who is involved in these crimes, and we have uniformed officers patrolling the area as part of the Vulnerable Vehicle Scheme in order to identify any vehicles which may be at risk so we can contact the owners in order to advise them in a bid to reduce the chances of them becoming victims of crime.”

He added: “I would ask drivers and residents to be alert and report any suspicious activity to police right away particularly if you see anyone taking an interest in parked vehicles.”

Anyone with information can call Humberside Police on 101.