A former burglar has shared a simple parking trick which he says can stop vehicles being stolen. While many of us go to lengths to make sure our car is parked neatly at the side of the road, with tyres dead straight that might be just what a thief is looking for.
Former burglar Michael Fraser says that makes it easy for a thief to jump in the car and drive off. But he says if drivers turn their wheels towards the kerb when parallel parking it can be a major deterrent.
According to The Express he told the BBC: "Burglary will never change because it's so easy and you're more likely to get away with burglary than anything else because it's not looked at seriously. Burglars are very lazy people. If you do anything to secure your property, he’ll move next door.
“Ninety-nine percent of us just do nothing. It’s just like car crime. If you look out on the street, ninety-nine percent of us parallel park with the wheels dead straight.
“One percent will turn the wheels into the kerb or towards another car. You’ll never find that car will be stolen.
“Exactly the same with property. You do anything to secure your property, he’ll move on to next door.”
The BBC presenter, Joanna Gosling, said she had never heard about the car wheels method, calling it “a simple thing to change”. Mr Fraser, who now works as a home security expert, continued, saying: “Don’t put things on the window, sticker them on and then take them off.
“You leave the mark there and the burglar will know you’ve got something in the car, and he'll break the window to get in.”
Between March 2021 and March 2022, there were 108,542 motor thefts in England and Wales a large increase compared to the previous year. Data has shown that Ford and Vauxhall vehicles are the most at risk of being stolen, making up more than 30 percent of theft claims.
Looking back since 2018, the top five areas in the UK most prone to car thefts, totalled and ranked by volume of claims each year, include North Coventry, Harrow, East Birmingham, Brent and Greater London.
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