Hide your car keys … or you'll hand burglars easy getaway, warn police

Published on Wednesday 5 August 2009 22:03

THIEVES who find car keys during house break-ins are stealing vehicles to get them to their next target, in a new crime wave hitting the Lothians.

Police said 36 cars had been taken in the last two months in Edinburgh and Dalkeith after their keys were stolen during raids on homes for cash and jewellery. Officers said the vehicles stolen were worth a total of 330,000.

Some were later recovered, largely undamaged, but owners were faced with hefty bills for new keys or anti-theft devices.

Police expressed concern that such thefts were increasing. They warned drivers to keep keys hidden so thieves were unlikely to chance upon them.

The incidents were focused on the Morningside, Grange and Newington areas of Edinburgh and involved relatively ordinary models.

Those stolen included a four-year-old Toyota Avensis during an overnight break-in in Morningside on 10-11 July.

The thieves found the car keys when they stole a handbag, purse and wallet from an empty house after breaking in through a ground-floor window. The car was taken from the driveway and has yet to be traced.

Other cars stolen in similar raids include a Subaru Impreza, a Vauxhall Astra and a Volkswagen Polo. Most thefts happened overnight, although some took place in the early evening.

The thefts account for about one tenth of cars stolen in the Lothians since the end of May. Most of the others were older models which could be started by thieves without a key.

Cars built over the last 15 years have increasingly been fitted with devices which immobilise the engine unless the correct key is inserted into the ignition.

Inspector Simon Bradshaw, of Lothian and Borders Police road crime reduction unit, urged drivers to think about where they stored their keys.

He said: "People should secrete their keys away so they are not easy to spot during a cursory search by thieves. In most cases, criminals come across car keys and decide to take them to get away."

Motoring groups agreed car owners should take more care.

Jo Abbot, a spokeswoman for the Royal Automobile Club Foundation for Motoring, said: "Don't park and put the keys near the front door where they can be easily seen and taken.

"Drivers should remember if there is any chance thieves may still have keys to a recovered car, the locks should be changed to prevent the vehicle being stolen again."

Vanessa Guyll, of the Automobile Association, said keys cost around 200 to replace, with dealers able to reprogramme engine immobilisers.