Police
say the exhaust systems of cars are being targeted by criminals
in East Cheshire.
They are asking people who see anyone tampering with the underside
of a vehicle in unusual circumstances to call them.
In March/April 2010 fifteen drivers have returned to their parked
vehicles to find part of the exhaust system has been removed. In
some cases they drove away before realising there was a problem.
Detective Sergeant Dan Ackerley, in charge of the Cheshire Police
Eastern Area vehicle Crime Unit, said, "These thieves are
getting under the vehicles and simply sawing sections of the
exhaust away. "They are particularly keen on 4x4s; probably
because they are higher off the ground, giving more space for
the thief to work. [Ed. If your 4x4 has height adjustment leave
it at the lowest setting when you park. Discovery 3s and 4s have
this feature.]
"The thefts usually happen in the evening and the cars involved
have been left on car parks. Rileys Lane at Alderley Edge,
the Total Fitness centre at Handforth, Middlewich Town Centre
and Nantwich are among the places which have been hit. There
have also been some reports of similar crimes around Chester.
"The thieves have obviously found a market for the parts they
are stealing.
"We would ask anyone who sees someone working
on the underside of a vehicle in unusual circumstances to call
us immediately.
"We also ask anyone who finds their car exhaust
system has been tampered with to let us know and not to move
the vehicle until a Crime Scene Investigator arrives. A detailed
check of the vehicle while it is still in situ is very valuable
to this type of investigation."
Anyone who sees any suspicious activity which
might be connected to these thefts, or anyone whose vehicle is
targeted, is asked to call the Cheshire Police Information Line 101.
JANE THIRSK
Watch Officer
Cheshire Police
Macclesfield Neighbourhood Policing Team 0845 458 6371
Police non-emergency number: 101
Other Homewatch pages of current relevance: Briefs (recent
crimes in the Macclesfield Division including Bollington, Kerridge
and Pott Shrigley).
If you haven't looked at the homewatch pages before we recommend
looking at the homewatch home page.
