Motorists urged to freeze out opportunist thieves

Motorists urged to freeze out opportunist thieves

With frosty mornings now upon us, police across Greater Manchester are urging motorists to make life harder for car thieves by not leaving their vehicles unattended with engines running while de-icing them.

Figures from December 2012 show that the peak times for this offence are between 7am and 9am, and last year Heywood suffered more incidents than average.

Inspector John Armfield of Greater Manchester Police’s Road Policing Unit said: “Every winter on frosty mornings people leave vehicles with engines running while they go indoors to keep out of the cold.

“It’s therefore no surprise that when they go back outside their driveway is empty, as it only takes a few seconds to steal a car with keys left in the ignition. Motorists should also remember that if they do this then their insurance policies may be invalidated.

“It is not only high-powered vehicles that are targeted, so our advice to all drivers is to stay with the vehicle when defrosting it, and if you need to leave the car then remove any valuables, close all windows, lock all doors and take the keys with you."

There is now a range of pre-icer products that prevent ice and frost from building up on windscreens and windows, and motorists are advised to use one of these the night before.