Police have this week issued a warning to motorists in the Burnham-On-Sea area to ensure valuables are kept out of sight in parked vehicles to avoid encouraging opportunistic thieves.
The advice comes as police brace themselves for a seasonal upsurge in thefts from vehicles over the Easter holiday period.
“We are reminding the public to keep a ‘clean car’ and not leave any items on display to tempt would-be thieves,” a police spokesman told Burnham-On-Sea.com.
“It isn’t just sat navs, phones or other electronic items that need to be out of sight – that muddy old coat or rucksack on the back seat may be worthless, but a thief won’t know if you’ve left money or cards in the pocket or not.”
“It’s a good idea not to leave i-pod or ‘sat nav’ leads on display either as thieves may be tempted to check under the seats or in glove boxes to find the gadget. Don’t create temptation.”
“Having your car broken in to is not just an inconvenience, once you have gone through the disruption of having your car repaired and the insurance process, most of the time it leaves you out of pocket as the excess is normally more than the value of the goods stolen.”
Locking items out of sight in the boot is preferable to leaving them on display in the car. However, it isn’t guaranteed to keep them safe.
