POLICE are reminding motorists to keep their vehicles secure after a spate of car-breaks in King's Stanley where most of the vehicles were left insecure.

The incidents happened during the evening and overnight period of the 1st/2nd, and the 6th/7th of September in the Beeches Close and Brockley Road areas of King Stanley.

The first break-in happened at a house on Beeches Close between just after midnight on Tuesday September 1st and just before midnight on the 2nd. Offender(s) broke into the insecure Citroen Berlingo van and stolen a satnav system.

The next incident happened on the driveway of a house on Beeches Close between 1pm on Sunday the 6th and 8am Monday the 7th. The owner of the green Ford Focus had left the keys in the ignition of the vehicle. The offender(s) took the keys and a sat nav from the car.

The third theft again happened on the driveway of a house on Beeches Close, this time between 7pm on Sunday the 6th and 7am on Monday the 7th September. The offender(s) got into the insecure Honda Jazz and took a USB cable. Nothing else was taken.

The fourth break-in happened on the road outside a house on Beeches Close between 8pm on Sunday September 6 and 9am on Monday September 7. Offender(s) have broken into the Honda CRV and untidily searched the vehicle. Nothing was taken.

The final theft happened outside a house on Brockley Road between 8pm on Sunday the 6th and 12.45pm on Monday the 7th September. Offender(s) managed to get into the Honda Jazz as it was left insecure. Once inside the car a sat nav has been stolen from the passenger seat.

Inspector Andy Poole of the Stroud Neighbourhood Policing Team said "Criminals are quick to exploit any opportunity they are presented with, so I would urge motorists not to make it easy for thieves to take your hard-earned possessions.

"Firstly, we would advise drivers to lock their vehicles whenever they are left unattended. It seems obvious, but as you can see we have had numerous examples of people having had property stolen from their vehicle after leaving it unlocked. Some people think that they can leave vehicle doors unlocked if they live in a rural area, but thieves do not just operate in towns and cities.
 
"Secondly, we would urge drivers to leave nothing on display in their vehicle when they park up. Leaving high value, removable items on display is just asking for trouble. This applies as much to items such as CDs or sunglasses as it does to very valuable items like laptop computers, Sat Nav and removable stereos. By doing this motorists can significantly reduce their chances and opportunity of becoming a victim of car crime."

Anyone with information on any of the above incidents is asked to contact Gloucestershire Police on 101, quoting incident number 206 of September 8.