Police turn screw on number plate thieves

POLICE are joining forces with motorists in Warrington to turn the screw on number plate thieves.
Over the past few months there have been a number of reports of thefts of plates from vehicles of all shapes and sizes across the area.
Now, in a bid to tackle the issue, police and Warrington Community Safety Partnership have secured a quantity of sets of special anti-theft screws.
On Saturday, October 23rd, officers will hand out free sets of the screws to motorists at Tesco in Winwick Road.
They will be on hand between 10am and 2pm to hand out the screws to drivers and to offer valuable crime reduction advice.
A representative from RAC will also be on hand to help fit the screws to number plates.
PCSO Matt Kirkham said: “We want drivers to join forces in the fight against car crime. A number of motorists in the area have suffered at the hands of these thieves and we want to reduce the chances of other motorists falling foul of this type of crime.”
Residents are being urged to report any incidents of number plate theft so police can build up a bigger picture of what is happening across the town.
Sergeant Steve Hilton-Smith, of the Warrington Community Safety Partnership, said: “There are a number of reasons as to why thieves could be targeting number plates. It could be the case that these number plates are simply being taken for fun as ‘trophies’. In the most serious of cases it could be that some number plates are being stolen to help mask the identity of vehicles that might be used in some type of crime – this is why it is so important for residents to report these incidents to us.”