POLICE have warned drivers to be on their guard after car parks at beauty spots in and around Haslemere have once again been targeted by thieves. Thieves broke into cars at Tennysons Lane looking for handbags at the weekend and also turned their attention to cars parked at Frensham Ponds. At the Tennysons Lane car park thieves escaped with a handbag and its contents, from a black Audi A3, sometime between 3.30pm and 4.30pm on Friday, April 4. Despite repeated warnings from West Surrey Police, motorists, it says, are continuing to leave their valuables in their cars while they visit these popular beauty spots – giving car thieves ample opportunity to break in and steal the contents. The same beauty spot car parks are targeted every year by thieves looking for handbags, wallets and purses. The most obvious hiding place is the first place thieves look. Leaving handbags in the boot, the footwell of the car or even hiding them under a pile of newspapers will not deter thieves intent on making off with valuables. Car thieves tend to strike at the weekends when they know the car parks will be at their busiest. Visitors to these popular beauty spots can help themselves by removing valuables from their cars, fitting and using alarms, and parking their cars in the open under any lighting, away from shrubbery, and beside busy roads or paths. Visitors are also urged to take descriptions and car numbers and pass them on to the police at the time of any suspicious incidents. Police work with various agencies, including local authorities and the National Trust, to improve security at beauty spot car parks, including cutting back hedges, improved lighting and posters warning motorists that thieves operate in the area. Most car crime is opportunist and can be prevented by vigilance and relatively cheap security precautions:

Precautions: l Always leave handbags and wallets at home if you can. Thieves operating in beauty spot car parks know you are going to be gone for at least half an hour which gives them ample time to search the glove compartment, under the seat and in the boot. Even if your bag does not contain anything valuable, a thief won't know and might still break a window to get at it. l Never leave a car door unlocked or a window or sun-roof open, even if you are only going to be gone for a couple of minutes. l Always remove your stereo if you can. If it is not removable, all equipment should be marked both visibly and permanently with the vehicle registration number. l In particular, never leave credit cards, cheque books, mobile phones (40 per cent of car break-ins involve the theft of a mobile phone) or vehicle documents in your car.