POLICE are writing to residents who left valuables on display in their vehicles as part of a crime prevention operation.

Officers visited car parks and other public areas of Farnham, Burnham and Taplow to check if motorists were leaving their vehicles with valuables on display during a nine-hour operation on Wednesday.

Police will be writing to the owners of twelve vehicles after officers spotted handbags, a sports bag and a mobile phone clearly on display – with one motorist even leaving the car window open.

PCSO Edward Baker said: “Wednesday’s operation formed part of our on-going efforts to combat thefts from cars in certain areas of Buckinghamshire.

"We unfortunately found a total of 12 cars with valuables clearly on display. These could have easily caught the eye of an opportunistic thief, resulting in unnecessary crimes being committed.

"I would like to reiterate the importance of not leaving valuables in cars or on display at any time."

There were no reported incidents of theft from a motor vehicle or suspicious people seen in the area by officers during the operation.