AN AVERAGE of ten car crimes are reported in Bolton every day according to police figures.

Between December 1 2017 and November 30 2018, 3,770 ‘vehicle crimes’ in Bolton were reported to Greater Manchester Police.

Halliwell tops a list of hotspot areas in Bolton, racking up 261 incidents in the 12-month period.

On average, 22 crimes were reported every month in the area, which includes Chorley Old Road and Topp Way.

On one street in Halliwell — Grafton Street — there were four incidents reported in November alone.

Rumworth came second in the town’s 21 police zones, with 258 vehicle crimes overall, including 43 in April.

Other high scoring areas were Crompton at 241, Hulton at 237, Farnworth at 231, Great Lever at 223, Heaton and Lostock at 223, Smithills at 214, and Astley Bridge at 208.

The Westhoughton South and Bradshaw police districts proved safest, with just 79 and 77 offences.

Vehicle crime is the broad term for a range of crimes including theft of motor vehicle, theft from motor vehicle, vehicle interference, and damage to motor vehicle. The figures are shown on the crime maps feature of the GMP website.

The statistics show that the remaining areas in Bolton saw between 100 and 200 crimes reported over the course of the year.

Responding to the figures, the leader of Bolton Council and councillor for Halliwell, Linda Thomas said: “Car theft is very distressing and is yet another symptom of how the Tories have cut our police force numbers too deep with 2,000 taken off our streets in Greater Manchester since 2010 — criminals are taking advantage.

“Residents want to know we are doing something about it. We are trying to fill the gap left by police funding cuts with our local powers, including the £100,000 fund we committed for community watch and LED street lighting introduced across our towns in Bolton which has improve visibility at night and better quality CCTV images.”

Recently, there has also been a spike in the theft of keyless vehicles, where burglars use a relay amplifier and transmitter to pick up a signal from car fobs.

The amplifier can detect the fob’s signal from inside a house, and send it to the transmitter, which can then be used to gain entry to the car, switch it on, and drive off.

In October, a Jaguar was stolen this way from outside Kathleen Woodward’s home in Old Kiln Lane, in Heaton

At the time she told The Bolton News: “The car had been locked, but there was no evidence of a break-in.

“When we talked to our neighbour, they said they had had one stolen from their drive. A week after, their car was stolen again.”

Ms Woodward, aged 67, was later informed that her car had been found close to Horwich Police Station days later.

She added that vehicle theft was ‘rife’ in the area, and had left residents feeling unsafe.

Another resident said they had recently had tools stolen from inside a van, and had captured the culprits on CCTV.

Ms Woodward’s partner Richard Wellburn, aged 66, added: “It is extremely concerning. It is the people at the sharp end who are left having sleepless nights, worrying about their cars. We have had estimates for CCTV on my house and I have had a removable bollard installed on my drive because I am concerned someone is going round targeting cars with keyless entry.

“I am having to spend money protecting my property so that I feel comfortable going to bed.

“We appreciate the pressures police are under, and if there is anything we can do to help support them, we are willing to.

Lancashire-based breakdown and recovery company 24|7 Vehicle Rescue recently launched a product called MYCARLO, to help locate stolen vehicles.

Ranjen Gohri, director of the company said: “These figures show car crime continues to be a daily issue in our neighbourhoods.

“It’s really important people are keeping their vehicles locked at all times and ensuring no valuable items are kept on display.”

Greater Manchester Police did not comment specifically on the figures, but advice on their website reads: “Car crime is often thought to be committed by sophisticated high-tech criminals.

“In reality, most vehicle crimes are opportunistic. Car crime is reasonably easy to prevent.

“Simple measures drastically reduce the chances of having your vehicle targeted by thieves.”