Keyless van theft surge across East Lancashire prompts police warning

And officers are asking the public's help to not only keep vehicles safe and secure, but to report any suspicious activity to the police.

A Lancashire Police spokesman said: "We are still experiencing the theft of work vans, particularly Ford Transit and Mercedes Sprinter vans. It’s a problem across the North West of England and the vans are being taken without keys. We need your help.

"If you have such a van please do what you can to keep it safe. Wheel locks or blocking it in may be the difference between your van being stolen or not. Thieves are put off by security measures and will just move on as oppose to cutting off locks and doing anything that makes noise.

"If your neighbour has one of these vans then we’re asking you to be a good neighbour. If it never moves overnight and it suddenly drives off at 1am then please let us know. We’d rather have a call with good intent that a stolen van. We got a quick call and stopped the van and locked up the suspect when recently stolen in Bacup. Please help us to help you."