SIX cars were broken into within 24 hours in Chipping Norton and surrounding villages.

On Wednesday, sometime between 8.45am and 5.35pm, a blue Mazda was broken into in the New Street car park in Chipping Norton, but nothing was stolen.

Then overnight on Wednesday to Thursday the following break-ins occurred:

  • Hill Rise, Great Rollright, a handbag containing a chequebook and credit cards was stolen from a silver Citroën Picasso.
  • Main Street, Over Norton, chef's knives and cooking equipment were stolen from a green Volvo V70.
  • Quarhill Close, also in Over Norton, a handbag, a briefcase and number of bibles were stolen from a black Citroën Picasso; a bag was stolen from a red Renault Espace.

Then yesterday, between 1.45am and 2.15am, shotgun cartridges were stolen from a green Mitsubishi Shogun in the High Street, Great Rollright.

Det Sgt Craig Kirby, of the West Oxfordshire police area, said: "I would like to appeal for any residents who saw anyone acting suspiciously in the villages around Chipping Norton to come forward.

"We are actively investigating these crimes, but we really need help with motorists taking responsibility for their own property.

"There is only so much the police can do to prevent these sorts of crimes taking place, especially in remote areas, and motorists need to do more to stop themselves becoming victims of crime.

"Villages are safe places to live, but thieves travel through the countryside looking for easy pickings. It takes seconds to open an unlocked door and steal something, and not much longer to put a brick through your window.

"Don't leave anything valuable on display or anything to make someone think you may have something valuable hidden in the car: it will be enough reason for a thief to try their luck and smash your window, causing hundreds of pounds of damage."

Anyone with information about these incidents is asked to contact Det Sgt Kirby via the police enquiry centre on 0845 8 505 505. If you don't want to talk to the police or give your name, call the Crimestoppers charity on 0800