Drivers urged to keep keys safe after series of break-ins

CAR owners are being warned to take extra care, after burglars targeted car keys in a series of break-ins in the city.

Police believe that three similar incidents in three days could be connected.

Thieves managed to get away with a Renault Clio after breaking into the owner's house in the early hours of Thursday morning.

Now police are urging people to avoid leaving their car keys within sight or in "obvious places".

They say letter boxes, open windows and handbags are all easy targets for car thieves.

The car was stolen from Cluny Gardens, after the keys were taken from the house between 1am and 5am. The night before, thieves broke into a commercial garage in Ferry Road and tried to access a safe box containing keys. But the attempt was unsuccessful and the suspects fled the scene.

Officers were alerted to a break-in at a home on nearby Granby Road, which was discovered on Tuesday morning. The burglars made off with a games console, but police believe that a car had been the real target.

Sergeant Stuart Fletcher, of the Safer Communities Department, said: "What we want to stress is that members of the community need to keep their car keys safe."