Thefts from vehicles in Denham and Gerrards Cross are “through the roof” – prompting police to urge drivers to not leave valuables in their cars.

Incidents where thieves have broken into vehicles and stolen valuable items have almost doubled in the past year, with 45 thefts taking place between October 2017 and January 2018, compared with 81 in the same period in 2018/19.

During a meeting of the Denham and Gerrards Cross Local Area Forum (LAF) on Wednesday (January 30) PC Teresa Covey, from the local policing team, updated members on crime figures in the area.

She said many of the vehicle break-ins have taken place in Village Road in Denham, and arrests have been made in connection to some of the crimes.

Police will continue carrying out patrols in the area to crack down on the issue,.

They are also leaving “clear car” leaflets, that look similar to parking tickets, on people’s vehicles, urging them to take valuable items inside.

PC Covey added: “If we see a vehicle with something on display, we then have to put that card on every vehicle that’s there at the time, because we don’t want to single out that one particular car where the person has left their laptop, or their handbag or something else.

“It happens a lot, particularly in Denham village because they go to the pub and leave their laptop in the car at lunch time. It’s easy pickings.”

Despite the rise in thefts from vehicles, theft of vehicles, criminal damage and shoplifting have all gone down in the Denham and Gerrards Cross policing area.