THE number of car thefts has been driven down thanks to a successful police campaign against car crime in the run-up to Christmas.

The rate of vehicle thefts in Marlow and Bourne End has dropped significantly from an average of four per day to less than one per day. Only two cars were stolen in a three day period over the weekend.

Operation Galleria 2, launched in November, aimed to reduce cars being stolen or broken into by increasing police patrols and educating drivers using a poster campaign.

Officers walked the streets after dark to spot cars with valuable items left on display.

Inspector David Evans, head of Wycombe's rural policing, said: "We found the cars being targeted were those recognisable as company cars.

"Thieves expect there to be items of value like laptops, satellite navigation systems and other technology in the vehicle.

"We see a surprising number of cars in car parks, particularly outside pubs, with laptops left carelessly on the passenger seat.

"Some people hide their satellite navigation systems in the glove compartment but they leave the rubber sucker on the windscreen, which is a complete giveaway to opportunist thieves.

"Our patrols have often involved going into pubs with a list of registration numbers to find drivers who have left items on display and explain to them the risk they are taking."

Mike Levine, crime reduction adviser for Thames Valley Police in Buckinghamshire, said: "Leaving a laptop in your car is a seriously bad idea.

"It may be inconvenient to take it with you into the pub, but think of the inconvenience of losing all the work you have saved onto your computer and explaining to your boss your laptop got stolen because you left it in the car."

Insp Evans added: "The trend is for things to get pinched in the run-up to Christmas because there is a market for them but there's no reason for people to be complacent now."

The operation is now being drawn to a close, but will be relaunched if and when it is deemed necessary.