Thousands of cars stolen in Nottinghamshire in the last year amid national rise in incidents

Nottinghamshire has seen a rise in car thefts in the last year. Photo: Other

Thousands of cars were stolen in Nottinghamshire in the year to June – as new figures show a rise thefts across England and Wales.

A motoring group has called the rise in vehicle crimes ‘worrying for everyone’.

New figures from the Home Office show Nottinghamshire Police recorded 2,071 crimes of 'theft or unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle' in the year to June – down slightly from 2,098 thefts the year before.

This was also a fall from the same period five years ago, when 2,230 such crimes were registered in the area.

It was a different story across England and Wales, where there were 132,000 vehicle thefts in the year to June – up 13% from 116,000 the year before.

The AA said the jump in car thefts is a cause for concern.

Gus Park, managing director for AA insurance services, said: "These figures are in danger of getting out of control, which if left to spiral further will have big cost implications in terms of the impact to wider society – let alone the price policy holders pay.

"We urge police chiefs and crime commissioners across the country to create an action plan to crack the case."

Mr Park further suggested drivers should avoid ‘giving miscreants an easy win’, advising them to use steering wheel locks and parking in a garage when possible.

The charge rate remains low for car thefts – with four per cent of crimes in Nottinghamshire resulting in a charge in the past year.

Meanwhile, 78 per cent of cases were closed without the force identifying a suspect.

Superintendent Matthew Moscrop – part of the National Police Chiefs’ Council team on vehicle theft – said police chiefs are working to clamp down on the sale of technology used to break into vehicles, and to close routes for selling them once they are stolen.

He said: "Intelligence suggests a large proportion of vehicle theft can be attributed to organised crime groups and there have been a number of successful operations around the country which have led to the discovery of not only stolen vehicles but also ammunition and drugs.

"Tackling vehicle crime needs approaching from several different angles, and we can only achieve this through working closely with our partners in both Government and industry.