Town car crime insurance survey

An Endsleigh Insurance survery suggests that last year Northampton had the seventh highest frequency of claims across all towns in England.

However, Northamptonshire Police has urged caution over the figures and also pointed out that car crime had actually fallen in the county over the past 12 months.

Initiatives such as Operation Guardian shows that police are "getting in the face of people who are committing this type of offence." said a police spokesman.

The Endsleigh report included claims for stolen cars and possessions found in them, such as iPods and sat-nav systems . The results were collected by analysing motor claims over the last three years.

A spokesman for the insurance company said: "The report ranks towns and cities by comparing the frequency of theft claims between them in order to determine the risk, rather than simply looking at the total number of incidents.

"Despite the encouraging national Government statistics that show a decline in car crime, some cities are still at higher risk than others and our figures will of course be a concern to Northampton residents.

"However the positive local safety initiatives are having a significant impact on motorist safety. Local crime statistics show that since 2007, thefts from vehicles have been reduced by 10.6 per cent, while thefts of motor vehicles have gone down by 13.3 per cent. It is important for drivers in Northampton and across the rest of the UK to remember to avoid any unnecessary risk, particularly just after Christmas when drivers have often been given easy-to-steal items such as DVDs, laptops and cameras as gifts."

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