A SPATE of burglaries in which thieves have also taken keys from homes and made off in the owners' cars – with their haul of goods inside – have prompted a warning from police.
A Peugeot 206, Peugeot 306 and a Honda Civic were taken after crooks broke into houses in North Bretton, Eye and Netherton in Peterborough and took the car keys.
Four further burglaries also involved car keys being stolen, but in those instances,
the cars were not taken.
Community safety manager Debbie Sampson said: "Since 1998, all cars sold in the UK have been fitted with an electronic immobiliser.
"This has made newer cars much more difficult to break into, but has made older cars a more appealing target.
"We are currently seeing a trend where houses are being broken into and the car keys and then the car are taken, other items are also being stolen, the most common being laptops and flat screen TVs.
"The cars are probably being used to transport the items.
"We advise residents not to put keys on a key hook or on show by a window or door, but to put keys in a safe, but not obvious place.
"Ideally cars should be put away in a garage, so perhaps now is the time to spring clean your garage and make room for it.
"Quite a few of the homes broken into were not locked, so residents are reminded to lock all doors, even when in."
The full article contains 252 words and appears in Peterborough ET newspaper.
