THREE stolen cars were found over as many days in Bolton after police warned about a spate of vehicle thefts by burglars.

GMP's Road Policing Unit took to Twitter to announce "there was something going on" after a series of incidents.

It comes shortly after neighbourhood officers in the town warned of an increased in the number of burglaries in which thieves were walking through unlocked doors, snatching car keys left on the side and driving off in the motor.

Fourteen such crimes had been recorded in just a week.

 

Keys stolen from inside my house whilst home and stole the car off my driveway in astley bridge between approx 730pm and 1030pm.

Posted by Aronlyndsey Sloly on Wednesday, 11 November 2015

One victim, Aron Sloly, who lives off Moss Bank Way in Astley Bridge, said: "We had bought a car on Saturday from a place in Bolton town centre and on Monday there was something wrong so they took the car back to have it fixed and lent us a courtesy car, a Peugeot 207, which we due to return on Thursday.

"The night before, I was at work and got a call from my wife quite hysterical that somebody had stolen the car.

"Somebody had crept through the door while she was in the back room.

"My wife was upset and she was worried about somebody still being in the house."

Mr Sloly said the thief snuck through an unlocked door some time between 9pm and 10.30pm on Wednesday before grabbing the keys and stealing the Peugeot.

He said his family has now been left without the Ford they had purchased or the replacement Peugeot due to a dispute with the dealership over the theft. 

Another victim, Jacob Robb, took to Twitter to vent his anger.

He posted: "Pretty mad how somebody came in my house, 8pm, took car keys out my house and drove off in the car."

Referring to the controversial console game in which the character carries out burglaries and car-jacking at will, Mr Robb said: "Astley Bridge is like Grand Theft Auto."

The stolen cars picked up by traffic officers and mentioned on Twitter involved a black Vauxhall Astra was stolen in a burglary.

It was found in Rumworth with false plates covering the originals and held on with sticky tape.
Officers said a grey Volkswagen was stolen after the victim unknowingly dropped her car keys in a car park.

The car had been involved in a police pursuit the night before it was found and was discovered in Kearsley.

Police also recovered a silver Vauxhall Astra abandoned in the middle of a field and so is suspected stolen from Little Lever.

An officer tweeted using @GMPTraffic: "This suspected stolen was recovered from #Bolton last night after it'd been ragged around a muddy field and dumped."

Enquiries are ongoing into the stolen vehicles.

In relation to the burglaries, Bolton North Integrated Neighbourhood Policing Team said: "Local officers are working on getting out to the affected areas and making a plan to solve the issues."