07/12/10……Auto crime warning

THAMES Valley Police has issued a warning to motorists in South Oxfordshire to be on their guard when leaving their vehicle unattended, following a number of car crimes in the area.

There have been 15 thefts from motor vehicles in rural, outdoor locations in the past two months in the South Oxfordshire area. The main areas being targeted are rural areas in Thame and Watlington, and all involve the vehicle window being smashed and property being stolen from inside.

Beauty spots and rural car parks are being targeted, in particular the areas around Junction six of the M40 at Lewknor. Two cars were broken into at the Lambert Arms in London Road on 3 December at around midnight; a black Volkswagen Passat had its windows smashed and a laptop and sat nav stolen, and a black Mercedes ML 350 was broken into and an iPod, laptop, clothes and sunglasses were stolen.

Also in Lewknor, a white Toyota Estima was broken into while parked in the lay-by on the B4009, usually used by commuters who travel by bus to London. Tools and CDs were stolen from the Toyota on 30 November, sometime between 10am and 11.45pm.

There have also been a few incidents at the Belfry Hotel on the A40 at Milton Common. Two cars were broken into at the hotel on 3 December sometime between 2.30am and 6pm the day before. A silver Toyota Yaris had its windows smashed and a phone and handbag containing bank cards, ID cards and cash were taken, and a black BMW 118D had a laptop and handbag stolen from it.

The car park at the rural beauty spot in the Christmas Common area has also been targeted. On 29 November two cars were broken into at around 3pm in the afternoon. A silver Vauxhall Vectra had its windows smashed but nothing was taken as did a blue BMW 320 where food, clothes and a disable badge were stolen.

PC James Wood of South Oxfordshire?s Priority Crime Team said: ?We take auto crime very seriously and are utilising a number tactics to tackle it such as increased patrols in the area.

?In all of these crimes however, opportunistic thieves have taken advantage of the situation; what we need to do is to highlight how unwise it is to leave valuables on display in your car. Make sure you take them with you and properly secure you vehicle.

?Otherwise, you are inviting criminals to commit crime and are simply making it easier for them. We need to ensure that when people park their vehicles in rural areas and open car parks they take all their valuable items out of the car to prevent them from being stolen.?

If you have any information regarding these incidents, please contact Thames Valley Police on the non-emergency number 0845 8 505 505. If you don?t want to speak to police or give your name, please call the Crimestoppers charity anonymously on 0800 555 111.