Number plate thief strikes twice in Northamptonshire village over Christmas

Police are on the lookout for a number plate thief who struck twice on a Northamptonshire village estate over Christmas.

Registration plates were removed from the front and rear of a vehicle in Barnard Close in Earls Barton.

Another vehicle was targeted a week in nearby Shoemakers Close.

Both thefts occurred between 8am on Christmas Day and lunchtime on December 27.

Northamptonshire Police are appealing for anyone in the area with security cameras to check footage and contact them by calling 101 if they spot anyone acting suspiciously in the area.

Plates are often stolen to order and used to disguise vehicles used in crimes from ram-raiding, fuel theft and dodging parking or speeding fines.

Registration thefts have more than doubled in the last five years and the AA issued a guide on how to combat 'cloning' cars by having plates pinched.

A spokesman for the motoring organisation said: "If you want to buy a set of number plates from a legitimate supplier you'll have to present the vehicle registration document and prove who you are.

"So thieves often resort to stealing number plates from a car on the street or in a quiet corner of a car park.

"With so much enforcement by CCTV or Automatic Number Plate Recognition, stolen plates can be used to disguise another car to aid crimes such as selling stolen vehicles, ram-raiding or burglary, driving away from petrol stations without paying and evading congestion charges, parking and speeding fines.

"If the number plates are stolen from your car you should report it to the police straight away – you might start receiving parking fines, speeding fines or worse."

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