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16 Jan 2012
As the county sees its first cold snap of the winter, Cheshire
Police are urging the public to help combat a crime
trend associated with the cold weather.
Detective Chief Inspector Andy Smith said
Thieves seize the opportunity of the cold
weather to steal cars. The arrival of cold winter
mornings normally brings a series of de-frosting type thefts.
Thieves target cars which have been left
with their engines running to defrost the windscreens.
Just this morning, a Toyota was stolen in these
circumstances in Widnes by criminals seizing their
opportunity to drive away in cars left on driveways with the keys
in the ignition.
- Detective Chief Inspector Andy Smith, Cheshire
Police
The message from Cheshire Police is simple - Never leave
keys in the ignition and doors unlocked when your car is
unattended, even if it is only for a couple of minutes and
the vehicle is sitting on your own driveway or on the road outside
your house. Similarly, we urge drivers to be sensible and
defrost their screens before moving off, because driving
with only a few inches of the windscreen clear is dangerous.
The consequences of losing your car in this way could be more
far reaching than most people realise.
Detective Chief Inspector Smith added
The sensible approach is to allow an extra few minutes
to defrost your car and do not leave it
unattended. When making an insurance claim in a situation
where a driver has left a vehicle insecure, insurers may
argue that a reasonable duty of care has not been taken.
Victims are then faced with the loss of their vehicle with
potenitally no means of replacement, even though they are fully
insured.
- Detective Chief Inspector Andy Smith, Cheshire
Police
