ANOTHER spate of car key burglaries in Ross-on-Wye have been reported to local police following reports of similar incidents during the autumn.

Incidents of car key burglaries, where an offender breaks into a home with the specific aim of stealing car keys from the property, have occurred locally and included the areas of Walford and Merrivale in October and the Woodedge area of Ross in November.

Perpetrators often target specific vehicles, based on demand and value.

And now another spate of car key burglaries has been reported to police officers based in Ross.

Police Community Support Officer Claire Denton said: “We are investigating a number of reported car key burglaries in the Ross-on-Wye area, and we want to reassure local residents we are doing everything we can to trace those responsible.”

The victims have been targeted by offenders looking for easy ways to exploit the homeowner’s security to obtain the car keys to high value vehicles.

A number of offenders are now behind bars following an investigation, which formed part of Operation Enzyme, West Mercia Police’s cross-border partnership operation to combat car key burglaries and other vehicle related offences.

The police said that car thieves and car key burglars are often using the cover of night to carry out their crimes and offer some basic crime prevention methods to deter burglars.

This includes keeping your keys somewhere out of sight and not on a hallway table; If there is more than one vehicle on the driveway, park the lesser value vehicle behind the more expensive vehicle.