A TEENAGER who was found hiding in bushes near a stolen car has been arrested on suspicion of a car key burglary.

It follows a spate of incidents in Salisbury where vehicles have been broken into and items stolen from inside.

At about 3.45am this morning (Monday) officer on patrol found an abandoned car in St Mark's Road.

While searching the area they found a boy, dressed all in black, hiding in nearby bushes.

They also seized a pair of black gloves, a torch and some bolt-cutters.

They traced the vehicle to a woman who confirmed the car had been stolen from the driveway of her house in St Margaret’s Close.

A 16-year-old boy from Portsmouth has been arrested on suspicion of taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent, burglary and going equipped to steal. He is currently in police custody in Melksham.

PC Jack Billington, from Wiltshire south community policing team, said: “We would like to hear from anyone who may have information about this particular incident. If you have private CCTV and live in either of the locations then please could you check it to see if you notice anything suspicious.

“Also, we believe there have been a number of burglaries and car break-ins in the Salisbury area over recent weeks. Very often these have been minor break-ins to vehicles where nothing has been stolen, so we know there is likely to be many more victims out there who have not reported the crimes to police.

“If you are one of those people then please ring us on 101. We need people to report incidents to us so we can build up a picture of activity in the city and hopefully track down the offender or offenders.”

Police are also urging car owners to make sure their vehicle is secure.

Anyone with information should call 101, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.