Mersyside Police have warned drivers after a string of thefts.
There have been five thefts of catalytic converters from cars parked on driveways in Southport and Formby over the last month. Most of the vehicles targeted were Honda Jazz cars, but any hybrid car could be a target.
Recent thefts have been overnight, and from private driveways but usually thieves work in broad daylight and appear as if they are doing repair work on a car or wear high visibility jackets to "hide in plain sight" according to police.
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The following steps may reduce the risk to your vehicle:
- 'Cat locks' can be purchased to secure the catalytic converter on your vehicle. This is especially recommended to vehicle owners who have had their catalytic converters stolen previously, to reduce the risk of becoming a repeat victim of this type of crime.
- If you have CCTV or a door bell camera, consider reversing your car onto your driveway, so that the back of your car is covered by the CCTV/camera.
- If you have gates, consider locking them with a sturdy chain to make life more difficult for thieves.
- If you see people acting suspiciously around vehicles at any time you can report them on 101or 999.
A spokesperson for Mersyside 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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