MOTORISTS are being urged not to leave personal belongings or valuables inside their vehicles overnight after a spate of thefts.

Police have issued the warning after a "recent spike" in thefts overnight in the Fordingbridge, Ringwood, New Milton and Lymington areas.

A warning posted on the Ringwood Police Facebook page said: "We wanted to issue a timely reminder not to leave personal belongings or valuables in motor vehicles overnight, as we have seen a recent spike in thefts overnight in the Fordingbridge, Ringwood, New Milton and Lymington areas.

"If your vehicle is parked on a driveway or in-front of a garage, you may want to consider installing a CCTV camera covering the area which your vehicle is parked or installing a motion-detector dash-cam. This way, it may serve as a deterrent to potential thieves as they know that they will be caught on camera."

"Most burglaries are committed by opportunists. These are often spur-of-the-moment decisions, made when they see valuables left on view or lapses in security. Personal items such as mobile phones and tablets, handbags and work tools left somewhere obvious can be an attractive target, so please do take them indoors with you every night," the post added.

"Our officers in the community are continuing to follow-up on all reports of thefts from motor vehicles, so please be reassured that we are doing all we can to protect the community and bring these offenders to justice.

"We would urge you to remove all personal belongings from your vehicle each night. While this might seem laborious at the time, it might just save you from becoming a victim of crime.

"As always, if you see a crime in progress, please dial 999."

 

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