Households warned to hide car keys following thefts

Police have urged residents to be vigilant after four sets of car keys and three vehicles were stolen in a series of burglaries.

Wiltshire Police said a house in Yatton Keynell near Chippenham was broken into in the early hours of Sunday morning - where a set of house keys were also stolen. All vehicles have now been recovered.

The incident has become the latest in a series of 13 burglaries reported in the north and west of the county in recent weeks.

Officers have advised residents to make sure all doors and windows are locked and avoid storing keys in "easily accessible places, such as bowls or hooks by the front door".

Det Con Thomas Carver said: "We'd like to urge residents to be vigilant and to take simple steps to protect their homes and vehicles...please also consider deterrents such as security lights and sound-activated CCTV."

Similar incidents in the Avon and Somerset area have also been reported.

Carver said officers were carrying out "targeted patrols" in affected areas, "obtaining and reviewing all available CCTV" and working closely with neighboring forces to identify offenders travelling across county borders to carry out the burglaries.

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