White vans in South Yorkshire hotel car parks targeted by thieves

Criminals believe tradespeople staying in hotels are more likely to leave tools in their van overnight

Thieves are targeting white vans used by tradesmen parked in hotel car parks in South Yorkshire, a senior police officer has revealed.

Temp Supt Jamie Henderson reported that criminals knew many workers would not take their tools into their hotel room.

Thieves cloned the van's remote key fob to gain access, he said in a report for the county's police commissioner.

Vehicle thefts in the county rose 19% to 3,590 in the year to the end of October 2021, the report added.

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Temp Supt Henderson, of South Yorkshire Police, said: "Thieves are known to target hotel car parks, as they know many tradespeople working out-of-town are unlikely to decamp their tools into their hotel room overnight.

"This means each theft is more lucrative."

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said the officer added: "Whilst it's inconvenient having to remove your tools, we are aware that it does sadly increase your risk of being targeted by thieves if you do not."