Car thefts double as 6,000 stolen in year
TRIBUTES have been paid to a businessman who died after he was reportedly punched at a Screwfix store in a row over queue jumping.
Andrew Webster, 51, died in hospital with serious injuries after reports of an ‘altercation between two men’.
Mr Webster is said to have fallen and hit his head on the pavement outside the DIY shop in Warrington.
Cheshire Police said the incident took place at around 10am on July 2.
A 24-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of assault and has been bailed pending further inquiries.
Mr Webster’s wife, Lisa, with whom he had an 11-year-old daughter, Ruby, described her husband as the ‘gentlest of men’.
In a tribute on Facebook, Lisa wrote: “I want you all to know he was my true hero. He was just the most amazing, bravest guy.”
She said her husband didn’t know the man involved in the alleged assault.
Cheshire Police have reassured the public that it was an ‘isolated incident’.
In a statement, the force said: “A man who was seriously injured in an assault in Warrington has sadly died.
“Shortly after 10am on Thursday, July 2, police were called to reports of an altercation between two men on Gateway Trade Park, Kerfoot Street, Warrington.
“Officers attended the scene and found a 51-year-old man with serious injuries. Andrew Webster, from Warrington, was taken to hospital but sadly died.”
Police are appealing for anyone with information to come forward.
VEHICLE thefts across Greater Manchester have more than doubled over just four years, new figures reveal.
Commentators and insurance experts said the statistics paint ‘a disturbing picture’ and highlight just how rife car thefts are.
Nationally, the figures show thefts of motor vehicles in Britain have risen by 56 per cent.
Some 152,541 vehicles were stolen in 2018/19 compared with 97,609 in 2014/15, according to police data obtained by RAC Insurance.
All but three of Britain’s police forces that responded to Freedom of Information requests recorded an increase in thefts over the period.
Greater Manchester Police recorded the third largest rise after West Midlands
Police and the Metropolitan Police.
The figures give the number of thefts from April 1, 2014 to March 31, 2015, followed by April 1, 2018 to March 31, 2019.
The data for Greater Manchester shows 3,018 vehicles were reported stolen in 2014/15, with the latest figure standing at 6,223.
The largest rises in terms of vehicle numbers were in the force areas of Metropolitan Police, up 9,635 to 30,773, West Midlands, up 5,677 to 10,372, then Greater Manchester.
Six forces in total, including Greater Manchester Police, saw thefts more than double.
Only Lincolnshire, the City of London and Police Scotland recorded a reduction.
RAC Insurance spokesman Simon Williams said: “These figures paint a rather disturbing picture.
“Vehicle thefts are on the rise almost everywhere, and in some parts of the country numbers are rocketing.
“It’s also not the case that the rises in crime are confined to a few larger urban areas, with many police forces covering more rural areas also seeing big increases. While vehicle crime is at far lower levels today than it was in the early 1990s thanks to improvements in vehicle security, and the number of vehicles licensed to be driven on the UK’s roads is higher than at any point in the past, it’s still concerning that so many more vehicles are being stolen than just a few years ago.”
He believes the increase is partly due to a rise in thefts of vehicles that are easier to steal, such as motorbikes and mopeds which are less likely to have immobilisers.
Government data shows that thieves use a key in nearly half of incidents, indicating that many drivers can do more to protect their vehicles.
Mr Williams went on: “While organised criminal gangs are responsible for a large proportion of crime, thieves will also be opportunistic in nature so the more a driver can do to make their car a less likely target the better.”
The figures for Cheshire are 784 and 1,084, and for Lancashire 1,691 and 2,634.