BURGLARS intent on stealing your car are breaking into homes for the keys - in a crimewave which has soared 25-fold in just four years.
The number of ‘two-in-one’ or Hanoi burglaries has gone up from just 35 in South Yorkshire in 2008 to 869 this year alone.
The rise is due to better car security.
“Cars are so well protected now you can’t just steal them without a key,” said South Yorkshire Police Detective Chief Inspector Dave Stopford.
Most of the stolen cars, often expensive models, end up being disguised and sold on, shipped abroad, or broken up for parts.
Victim Mark Strirrup, from Oughtibridge in Sheffield, had his £40,000 Mercedes stolen from his driveway by burglars who broke in while he and his young family slept.
“I’ve felt disturbed ever since,” he said.
Gemma Vause, from Rotherham, who had her home broken into for the keys to her new Seat Leon parked outside, said: “It’s shocking how many of these burglaries there have been.”
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