Thousands of pounds worth of personal belongings have been stolen from police stations and police vehicles in Oxfordshire.

The revelation has come to light after the Oxford Mail used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain a list of all the property stolen from Thames Valley Police in the county during the past two years.

And although the files did not list the police stations where the thefts occurred, it did reveal that some were "inside jobs" - thefts from fellow police officers and staff.

Among the items stolen were wallets, credit cards, cheque books, mobile phones, cash, cameras, clothing and a personal organiser.

Among the more unexpected items listed as stolen were cordless drills, hand tools, cycle accessories and a wing mirror.

Between April 2004 and March last year, 17 incidents of theft were recorded, while in the following 12 months there were 15.

A police spokesman said: "The security of our buildings, our vehicles and our property is of paramount importance to us.

"There are unfortunate incidents where police property is stolen from, for example, a car, but they're few and far between.

"We have nearly 1,000 vehicles in the force and these very few incidents, when compared against that, show how infrequent it is that one of them is broken into.

"These items stolen represent a very small number of incidents and they're always investigated."

In May, we reported that overall crime in Oxford had fallen marginally year-on-year, but robberies and burglaries had increased sharply. There were 1,116 burglaries in Oxford between April 1, 2005, and March 31 this year, compared with 982 the previous year - a 13.6 per cent rise - and there were 294 robberies, compared with 263 in the previous year (up 15.7 per cent).

However, overall crime in the city dropped - by just 0.5 per cent, which is just over one offence fewer a week.

In August, also using the Freedom of Information Act, we reported that scores of knives had been confiscated at the doors of Oxford Magistrates' Court this year.

Between January and July, 243 knives were found on people - most of them criminals - arriving at the city's main court. Almost all were handed back when they left the court.

The figures were proof of the growing number of people carrying weapons in the city's streets. Senior police officers said they were alarmed by the findings.

Knives were not the only dangerous items found by court security staff using a metal detector.

Also picked up were hooks, a spike, needles, syringes, drills, spanners, a cricket bat, a catapult, batons, a saw and scissors.