POLICE decoy cars are being used to trap thieves in a new anti-crime strategy.

On the first day of the operation, officers arrested a man who is suspected of many thefts from vehicles in Swindon.

Now the force has issued a stark warning to criminals any parked vehicle you break into may be a police plant, while anybody nearby, from courting couples to business people, might be detectives waiting to arrest you.

The new strategy scored its first success within an hour and a half of being launched on Tuesday. The 12-strong squad in charge is led by Det Sgt Andy Deegan. He said: "We're not releasing details of the vehicles we're using.

"But what we're saying to thieves is that they never know whether the vehicle they target is one of ours. It could be any age and any make.

"At the moment, we're focusing on car parks, because they are being hit in the run-up to Christmas, but in the coming weeks we'll be working in other areas that are being hit by car crime. We're targeting car thieves as well as people who steal from cars."

The vehicles look no different from ones left by members of the public. They have standard stereo systems, and day-to-day objects might be left on the seats.

DS Deegan said: "On Tuesday, we were targeting a car park in the town centre.

"We left a car and were watching it our officers were nearby, acting like members of the public. At about 6pm, a 28-year-old man was arrested, having broken into the car through the window. He was after the CD player."

A few other forces have successfully used similar strategies in the past Merseyside Police even went as far as rigging a car so that its engine would stop and doors lock as soon as a thief was on board.