Mendip Neighbourhood Policing Team say they have seen an increase in thefts of Catalytic Converters in the Mendip area recently. The thefts occur in daylight as well as overnight.

Catalytic Converters are positioned underneath a vehicle and can take less than a minute to cut and remove, usually taken as they contain precious metals like platinum, palladium or rhodium which are valuable to metal dealers.

Anyone acting suspiciously under a vehicle please report it immediately to the Police on 999.

Police have issued the following advice:

Crime prevention advice

• Park your car in a locked garage where possible, but if this isn't an option then park it in a well-lit and well-populated area.

• In order to steal the parts, thieves need to slide under the vehicle and use cutting tools to detach the box from the pipes around it. This means parking your car close to fences, walls or kerbs will make theft much more difficult.

• Avoid parking your vehicle half on the pavement and half on the road, this may make it easier for thieves to access the catalytic converter.

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• If parking in a public car park, consider parking alongside other cars facing your bonnet towards the wall if possible. With the catalytic converter positioned at the front of your vehicle, this will make it harder for thieves to get close enough to steal it.

• If your catalytic converter is bolted on you can ask your local garage to weld the bolts to make it more difficult to remove. You can also purchase a 'cage clamp' which is a caged device that locks around the converter to make it more difficult to remove.

• You can also etch a serial number onto the converter to assist Police should yours be stolen. Some garages will do this for you, you will also be provided with a sticker to be displayed in your window that indicates your catalytic converter is marked which prevents offenders from targeting your vehicle.