Insp. Robin Sissons

POLICE warned motorists to not leave their vehicles with keys in the ignition after two thefts in Fenland in three days.

A Mazda 323 was stolen from the forecourt of the BP garage in Lynn Road, Wisbech, last Thursday at 4.45am. The owner left the engine running while paying for fuel.

A man wearing a hoody got into the vehicle and drove away.

Three days later, between 8am and 8.30am, a Mercedes panel van was stolen from outside a home in Ollard Avenue, Wisbech. The keys were in the ignition while the windscreen defrosted.

The van was later stopped by police in Wiltshire and the driver, a 29-year-old man, was arrested. He has been bailed.

Fenland Inspector Robin Sissons said: “Do not leave the keys of your vehicle in it with the engine running (whether it is for it to defrost or to pay for fuel) as people do have the cheek to jump in it and drive off.

“You might as well leave a pile of bank notes under a stone and ask someone to take them.”