Four cars were broken into in the Dunstable Downs Whipsnade Road car park and the nearby Tree Cathedral car park last weekend.
Three of these happened on Sunday morning (July 28) within one hour, with windows smashed to gain entry to the boot of the car.
The other happened in just a ten minute period on Saturday night at about 6.45pm at Dunstable Downs.
Items stolen include rucksacks, a coat and bag which were in car boots, but on Saturday night one visitor had left her handbag on the backseat containing gold jewellery, cash and passports.
While crime in general is low in these areas, it makes sense to make sure basic security measures are followed at all times.
“While there is little you can do if someone smashes your window in order to gain access to the boot, you can prevent valuable items being stolen by simply not leaving them there,” said Gary Maxey, who works in the crime management bureau at force headquarters.
“And even if you are gone for just a few minutes, never leave items like your handbag on display in the car, or hidden under a seat. Unfortunately the lady who had her bag stolen on Saturday was on holiday here visiting family and you can imagine the upset and inconvenience of having to arrange
replacement passports, quite apart from losing her money and jewellery.”
“Most thieves are opportunists so even if you know that your old sports bag or coat doesn’t contain anything worth stealing, a thief won’t when he sees it in the car. It takes a few seconds to smash a window and take it – if there’s nothing in the pocket it doesn’t matter to the thief but you will be left with a big bill and a lot of inconvenience to sort out the damage,” he said