Car break-ins 'getting crazy' in busy part of Northampton as Christmas fast approaches

Car break-ins in a busy part of Northampton are reportedly ‘getting crazy’ in the lead up to Christmas.

Residents in Briar Hill Walk and Briar Hill Road, Far Cotton, have reportedly seen an increase in car break-ins in their area in the past few weeks.

A 25-year-old resident, who wishes to remain anonymous, said: “Car crime is definitely increasing around here. Back in the day you had no trouble at all in this area. It’s definitely increased in the last five years.

"On the November 30, we had around 10 cars in the street broken into, trashing the insides completely. Ring doorbell footage showed one man going to the top of the road and back down checking cars at around 1.30am.

“Then, on December 2, there were two blokes trying cars in the street at about 5.30am then again at 6.30am. Whether it’s the same people or not I don’t know.

“All of the cars got stuff taken out of them. No one knows how they’ve got into the cars, people are saying they have some sort of mechanism to get in them – they’re not smashing windows.

“My mum’s had money taken out of her car. They’ve just taken what they can and left. I think that’s what they’ve done on the whole street.”

Asked how he and the community is feeling, the man said: “We’re very tight down here and look out for each other but I’m a bit on edge now.

“Police haven’t come out. I feel like they’re not taking it seriously. I’d like to see an increase in police presence in the area.”

Independent councillor Julie Davenport (Delapre and Rushmere) said car break-ins are ‘getting crazy’ in her ward.

She said: “Car break ins are getting crazy in Cotton. I’ve had so many complaints. One street had it three times in a week. They find it disturbing and say nothing is being done and that police aren’t interested.

“I think some people have given up trying to report because nothing is done but without the reports nothing will be done. But the volume of reports determines the amount of resources we get in the area.”

In East Hunsbury, a mother said she recently had her car stolen from her drive in the early hours of the morning.

The victim said: "There have been multiple cars stolen in East Hunsbury. Mine was taken from my drive between 3-4am. A lady the street up from me also had her car stolen. All of the cars are keyless and the perpetrators were able to access our keys from the outside of our houses with an electronic device.

“I’m a single mum and a part time nurse. I worked hard for my car; and I wasn’t able to take my little girl to school. I later found they had disposed of my daughter car seat at the bottom of my street. We have all reported to the police but nothing has been made public. I’d really like it highlighted so that other families are not left with the same loss."

Northants Police has regularly published information and advice on how to best protect your car.

Detective Inspector Gav Suttie, of the Force’s Proactive Crime & Intelligence Command, previously said: “Unfortunately we are receiving increased reports from people who have had their keyless entry cars stolen, usually overnight and often with the key fob still in their possession.

“It’s likely offenders are using a ‘relay attack’ method, where the signal from the key inside a property is amplified to make the car think the fob is with the vehicle so it can be driven away.

“Policing teams in areas experiencing higher reports are carrying out increased patrols, and we’re using all avenues we can to track down and arrest those responsible.

“We are also encouraging anyone with a car that can be entered and started without using a key in the ignition, especially those with electric cars or high-performance vehicles, to review and improve their security measures.

“The simplest and most effective way to reduce the risk of keyless car theft is to store your vehicle’s key fob in a faraday pouch, which prevents would-be thieves from using relay attack on the fob to steal the car.”

Click here for more ways to best prevent your car being targeted by thieves.