Residents urged to be vigilant following keyless thefts of Ford cars in Halton

Officers are urging residents to stay vigilant following keyless thefts of Ford cars in Halton.

At 7.08am Monday 10 October, a report was made that a blue Ford Fiesta was stolen from the Sandy Lane area of Runcorn without keys – less that 20 minutes later, at 7.23am, a blue Ford Focus was stolen from Cynthia Road, Runcorn again, without keys.

In Widnes, a report was also received that at sometime between 5pm on Sunday 9 October and 7.45am on Monday 10 October, a grey Ford Focus was stolen from Nazareth House Lane.

It is believed that these three incidents are linked and several enquiries are underway to locate those responsible.

Due to the spike in thefts, officers are now urging any owners of keyless entry cars to be vigilant.

Detective Sergeant Lee Connor said: “We have been making several enquiries in the local area to locate the vehicles and bring the offenders to justice.

“I’d like to reiterate to the community that we are continuing our efforts in pursuing those who are coming into Halton to commit crime.

“I would urge residents to also think about how they can prevent themselves from falling foul to these opportunistic thieves by taking on board some of our crime prevention advice.”

Keyless car thefts are when a device is used to trick a car into thinking the key is close by – unlocking the car and kick-starting the ignition.

Offenders only need to be in a few metres of your car key to capture the signal and it only takes a matter of seconds.

Crime prevention measures to make things difficult for criminals to target vehicles through the likes of keyless or relay thefts include purchasing Faraday bags/boxes to store vehicle keys, which blocks the signals.

Other measures such as driveway bollards, CCTV, steering wheel locks, and Ghost immobiliser systems have also proved effective in preventing offences.

For more information on how to protect yourself from car theft, visit the crime prevention page.

Anyone with information on the car thefts are urged to contact Cheshire Police via the Cheshire Police website or call 101.

Information can also be passed on to Crimestoppers anonymously via 0800 555 111 or online via the Crimestoppers website.