Our car theft hot suburbs revealed

Newtown recorded highest rate

RESIDENTS of one Toowoomba suburb have a much higher chance of getting their car stolen than in most other areas around the Garden City.

New data from the National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council revealed there were 49 cars stolen in Newtown in the 2017-18 financial year.

About 37 per cent of those vehicles were valued below $5000, while 43.4 per cent were worth between $5000 and $20,000.

Roughly 13 per cent were worth up to $30,000 and 6.5 per cent were worth more than $30,000.

About 47 per cent of the cars were manufactured in the 2000s.

Harristown had the second highest number of car thefts in the 2017-18 financial year, with 34 cars stolen.

There were 22 cars stolen in North Toowoomba in that time frame and 21 stolen in Wilsonton.

Outer Toowoomba suburbs such as Highfields, Wellcamp, Hodgson Vale, Gowrie Junction and Gowrie Mountain had the lowest number of thefts, less than five thefts in the year each.

RACQ spokesperson Kirsty Clinton said she was concerned by the results and

she urged motorists to take simple steps to protect their vehicle.

“It seems like common sense, but we’re all so busy these days and often overlook the obvious things,” she said.

“When you leave your car, make sure the doors are locked, the windows are up and there are no valuables visible to tempt opportunistic thieves.”