Police have issued a warning to car owners in Chiswick car owners after an increase in the number of smash and grabs in the area.

Detectives have revealed that Turnham Green and Chiswick Homefields are hotspot wards for vehicle crime, with a spate of 51 offences being committed in the last 12 weeks.

The thieves appear to be targeting vehicles where valuables like laptops, handbags, wallets, cash and cameras are left on view with the majority of offences occur overnight.

Det Insp Jeff Minns, of Hounslow CID, said many of the cars targeted are parked in side roads off the High Road and around Turnham Green Terrace.
Crime figures reveal that an average of four vehicles a week are being broken into in these areas.

"Please don't leave valuables such as laptops in cars," he said. "It is not necessary and gives thieves the motivation to steal from your car. Hounslow Police will be looking very closely at these offences as they appear to be on the increase."

DI Minns also claims offences are becoming more prevalent with multiple attacks being reported in recent days.  On Tuesday morning there were a total of three incidents of theft from a car reported in the hotspot zones.

These figures come only days after the launch of Mayor of London Boris Johnson's online crime maps, which show that vehicle crime in Hounslow is down on last year's figure. In 2007 there were 3,642 reported incidents, compared to 3,221 in 2008.