Due to the new immobilisor systems that are now fitted to cars, the original keys are required to remove them.

The car criminals are now breaking into houses to steal the vehicle keys, in order to steal the vehicle.

As we will highlight they have now developed a method of removing the keys without breaking into your property.

This type of theft has been on going for a number of years throughout the UK, East Renfrewshire has had a

very large number of vehicles stolen by this method. (This is a problem throughout the UK)

It is called the  'Hook and Crane' method.

Where do you put your vehicle keys in the house when you have finished with it for the day?

Are they left on a kitchen window ledge, worktop etc and easliy visable to someone looking through your window at, say 4am?

Are they left in your hall near to the front door, either on a hook or on top of a piece of furniture?

What tends to happen is that the neds drive around different areas and note where high value vehicles are parked.

They will return around 3 / 4 am, as this is the time that most people are in their deepest sleep.

After looking through the windows if the key is for example is in the kitchen, they will force the window and remove the key and

then the vehicle.

However most people leave their vehicle keys in the hall, in easy reach of the letter box.

Either on a hook on the wall, on the stairs or on a piece of furniture.

When they arrive a quick lift of the letter box and a flash of a slim line torch will reveal  if the keys are there.

Then the 'hook and crane' is used.

A small piece of thin bamboo pole about four foot long with a cup hook screwed into the end. Fished through the letter box, hook

up the keys, pull them through the letter box and off with the car.

30 vehicles a day are removed by this method, It is time that we spoke to each other in order to prevent them access to the keys.

Usually the stolen car is escorted by the associate who is driving a legitimate car.  Should the police come upon them, bearing in

mind that the car would still not have been reported as stolen, the legitimate car will make off causing the police to follow that.

Therefore the stolen car gets a free journey, very high value cars go straight onto a container destined for foreign climes, more

down market vehicles (£15,000 +) have their identity altered and sold at auction in the UK. 

Insurance companies could regard leaving the keys in easy reach of a letter box as being ' a failure to safeguard' and could consider not paying out.  

Keep your car  keys out of sight and out of reach.