Officers advise caravan owners how to keep their vehicles and property secure

POLICE in Seaton have been helping tourists put the brakes on caravan thieves.

PCSOs Mike McGauley and Chris Bolsover have been visiting camp sites across the area, giving advice to owners about securing their vehicles and safeguarding personal property.

The latest initiative follows similar campaigns by local officers to cut farm and boat crime.

PCSO McGauley said they had not specifically looked at caravan security in the last few years.

“Given that this area is a popular caravan holiday destination we thought it would be a good idea to visit the local sites during the holiday period to offer advice and to engage with both camp site owners and tourists visiting our area,” he said.

“Many visitors appeared impressed with what we are doing and will be contacting their own local neighbourhood teams to see if a similar initiative has been or can be set up in their area”.

PCSO Bolsover added that the visits had been very successful, with around 120 people talking to officers over the seven sites visited.

He said: “In addition to providing advice, we property marked around 50 mobile phones and fifteen laptops. The camp sites have been very supportive and we have been asked to run the initiative again in the spring. We have also been asked to return to the sites in the near future to permanently mark valuable site equipment.

“In the meantime, we are assisting the sites in setting up a local ring-around scheme whereby the camps will get in touch with each other and the police if they notice any suspicious activity, including strange vehicles driving through their sites.”

If any other sites would like to take part in the next initiative they should call the Seaton neighbourhood team on (08452 777444).