Police in Merseyside have issued a warning to drivers over a spate of car thefts involving one particular make of car.
In a post on Facebook, Sefton Police said five thefts of catalytic converters from cars parked on driveways had occurred in the Southport and Formby areas of Liverpool in the last month. The majority of the vehicles targetted were Honda Jazz cars, the post said.
They added that "any hybrid car could be a target" and said Toyota and Lexus cars are also popular targets for thieves. Thefts can happen very quickly and will usually see the offender identify a vehicle and jack it up before using a cutting tool to remove the catalytic converter.
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Recent thefts have happened overnight, and from private driveways, but the post warned that some brazen thieves have targetted cars during the day by posing as repair workers, Liverpool Echo reports. Some instances have seen criminals put on hi-vis jackets to "hide in plain sight", police said.
Police have issued advice to drivers on how to prevent cars from being stolen. 'Cat locks' secure the catalytic converter onto a vehicle. Any vehicle owners who have had their catalytic converters stolen previously should consider purchasing one, police said, to reduce the risk of becoming a repeat victim of this type of crime.
In addition, if you have CCTV or a doorbell camera, you should reverse your car onto your driveway so that the back of your car is covered by it, police said. If you have gates, you should consider locking them with a sturdy chain to make life more difficult for thieves.
A spokesperson for Merseyside Police said: "If you see anyone acting in this manner under cars in car parks, CCTV, photographs, video or dashcam footage of the people involved and details of the vehicles they have used will be vital in helping us to arrest offenders."
"Call us on 999 if you believe you are witnessing a crime in process, or 101 if you have information or footage of an incident at a later date. These thieves are brazen and often carry out their crimes in busy areas on the basis that no one will report what they are seeing.
"Please help us to catch these offenders by reporting people acting suspiciously under cars in car parks."
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