Is your car a shop window?

The fever chills and burns, your limbs are like lead, in fact your whole body screams for that bag of gear.

So what are you going to do for cash? Burgle a house? Rob a pensioner? Go on a shoplifting spree?

No, the simplest crime is to break into a car.

Take a stroll round any Swindon car park as far as thieves are concerned, it's like being plunged into Aladdin's cave.

Laptops, mobile phones, car stereos, shopping bags they're all just a pane of glass away.

In fact, storing valuables in your car is like leaving them in a greenhouse anyone can see them and it doesn't take a vast load of criminal cunning to break-in.

But sometimes, thieves don't even need to do that windows and doors may be left open.

The Adver has joined forces with Swindon police and the council to put smash-and-grab car crooks out of business.

We want to ram home the message that leaving possessions on display turns your car into a shop window for criminals.

Town cops and parking attendants are routinely amazed at how blas motorists are about leaving valuables in view.

And the problem gets worse in the run up to Christmas, as the days get shorter and families start their seasonal shopping trips.

Police say Swindonians are more likely to be the victim of car crime than any other thieving offences, such as burglary.

However, shopping in Swindon does NOT always lead to having your car broken into.

In fact, according to the latest figures from 2000 motorists using multi-storieys stand a one in 14,360 chance of being hit.

But the risk is rising, and the previous year it was around one in 13,000.

And the message from the police is that these figures are not a licence to be complacent.

Crime prevention officer Bob Walton a former inspector who left active service this summer says drivers think their vehicles are secure.

"In actual fact, they are about as secure as a greenhouse," he said.

"And they shade valuables from the eyes of criminals about as much as a greenhouse."

As part of our Clear Your Car campaign, posters will be displayed in car parks across town, warning motorists about thieves.

"People often think we are being petty when we say don't leave valuables in your car," added Mr Walton. "But at the end of the day, it is motorists who suffer.

"Even if nothing is stolen, they will still have to cough up to replace a broken window the insurance excess nowadays is around £100.

"And if you have saved up all year for Christmas presents, and they are stolen, what will that mean for your family?"

Car crime is a major bugbear for the police.

Each incident needs to be investigated sapping valuable resources which could be spent on more important inquiries. And the number of thefts is rising.

Between April and September this year, there were 1,034 in Swindon an increase of just over 70 on the same period last year.

Mr Walton believes the vast majority of car thefts are carried out by drug users.

They are in and out in a flash if they don't break a window they will force a lock with a screwdriver.

"All they think about is their craving, they don't care about the misery they cause," he said.

"But a few commonsense precautions could mean you escape being their next victim."

Statistics

More than three-quarters (76 per cent) of vehicle related crime happens when it is dark.

One in 10 motorists have had their car broken into or vandalised.

After car stereos, purses, wallets, cash, credit cards, CDs and clothes are the most common items stolen.

Car crime now accounts for more than 20 per cent of all crime, and almost half of these thefts occur in car parks.

Although thieves usually force a door or smash a window, in one in 10 cases motorists have left the vehicle unlocked.

Cars most at risk are the older ones without alarms, but in the majority of cases the thieves are attracted by visible valuables.

Tamash Lal