Cops issue warning as car key thefts rise
BURGLARS are coming into Southport to steal cars from people’s homes, a Merseyside police officer has revealed.
Speaking at the Southport Area Committee, Sgt Andy Dentith said that a police operation was under way to tackle the crime after a spate of incidents around the town.
In recent months, there has been a spike in the number of burglaries in which thieves are specifically after car keys.
According to police figures, in the first two weeks of this month alone, 23 cars were stolen from properties in Sefton that had been broken into.
Three of these were in the north Southport area, one in the Ainsdale and Formby area, three in the Aintree and Netherton area, and 16 in the Crosby and Bootle area.
A Merseyside police spokesman said: “Sometimes, a thief will see a nice looking car outside a house and break into the property for the sole purpose of stealing the car keys.
“Apart from the suggestions given in past messages about keeping keys out of sight of external doors and windows, there are some extra precautions that may be worth considering:
“Fit a steering lock, a vehicle immobiliser or an alarm system.
“There are a number of products available in a range of prices.
“These devices make it more difficult for thieves to drive your car, and they want an easy vehicle to steal.
“Installing a tracker device helps you and the police to trace the movement of your car if it is stolen.
“Look out for your neighbour’s car as well as your own. Report any unusual activity such as a stranger checking car doors to see if they are locked.”
Earlier this month, Southport resident Steven Lannagan said that he was selling his house in Avondale Road North after thieves broke in and stole the keys to his £50,000 Audi.
After breaking the back door to gain entry, the intruders had ignored other valuable items which were left on display and left only with the keys.
The car was recovered from a location in Liver- pool the next day. Steven said: “You should see the state of the door, they’ve brought specialist tools to do this.
“My joiner mate came round and had a look and said they’ve got some serious kit to do that damage.
“Sometimes I park my car in different places because it’s a busy road but obviously they’ve watched to see where it belongs.
“The type of car it is, you have to start it in a certain way and if you don’t know what you’re you doing then you can’t.”
In response to the rise in incidents, Sgt Dentith said a police operation was under way and the force expected to see the figures fall this month, with 12 incidents recorded since the start of this month.
He said: “We have had some success in that operation already.
“We are getting targeted crimes where burglars are coming to the town.
“We can tell that because of the car key burglaries and we can track where they’re going to.
“Hopefully, we have started to see a decrease in burlgaries.”
Anyone with information on any of these crimes is asked to call Southport police on 101.