Six sat-nav thefts in two days in Doncaster

Supt Neil Thomas said six sat-nav thefts had been reported to South Yorkshire Police over two days earlier this week.

Five systems were taken from cars across the borough between 8am on Sunday, July 3 and 8am on Monday, July 4.

Another device was stolen from another vehicle between 8am on Tuesday, July 5 and 8am on Wednesday, July 6.

In each instance, the car was parked on a street.

Neil Thomas said: “The statistics are quite surprising because we have seen the use of sat-navs less and less as people are now using maps on their phones.

“If people are still using sat-navs they need to take care of them.

“When you leave your car, take it with you. In an ideal world, people would also take the cradle with them. In years gone by criminals knew that if they saw a cradle on the windscreen, the owner would have put the sat-nav in the glove box. Take your sat- nav with you when you leave your car in the same way you take your phone with you.”

He said there did not seem to be any trends with the thefts, and warned people to be vigilant wherever they were.

“The thefts don’t seem to be focused in any one area, it’s across the whole of Doncaster. It’s also been a mixture of day and night thefts.

“These thefts have happened when people have left their car on the street outside their houses, but I would say people should make sure they are always parking in a secure environment.

“We are making enquires into these thefts at the moment, including checking CCTV footage from the areas where they happened.”

He added that people should be on the look-out for cheap sat-navs from second- hand stores in the area.

“We will be going in to the second-hand stores to see if we can find them. I would say to people that if you are offered one and it seems too good to be true, it probably is.”