Spate of Thefts in Leyburn and Bedale.

Police in Leyburn and Bedale are asking residents to be vigilant and report any suspicious people or vehicles to them following a number of thefts in the area.

Over the past two days, seven vans have been broken into in the Leyburn area, including four owned by the same company, and valuable tools have been stolen from inside.

Thankfully, some of the vehicles were empty, but in some cases, power tools including saws, a generator, nail gun and stihl saw were taken.

In separate incidents, quad bikes have been stolen from rural properties in the Bedale area. One was taken from a property in Great Fencote over the bank holiday weekend and the other was stolen from a property in Scruton on Tuesday

Sergeant Stuart Grainger of Leyburn police, said:

“In this particular spate of thefts from vehicles, the thieves are targeting tradesmens’ vans, but others are at risk if you leave valuables on display. Quad bikes are also being targeted.

“Please remember to remove valuables such as tools, sat-navs and phones from your vehicles when they are not in use. Many thieves are opportunist and if they see something tempting, they will not hesitate to take it.

“We appreciate it can be an inconvenience having to remove your tools each time, but it could save you a lot of time and expense, especially if you rely on them to earn a living.  

“It’s also really important that residents ring us if they see or hear any unusual or suspicious behaviour in their neighbourhood, including unknown people or vehicles acting suspiciously, especially quad bikes being used in the hours of darkness.

“Be alert to noises also, loud bangs or engines starting up when you don’t expect them can be a sign of thieves in action. Note the registration of any suspicious looking vehicle if you can – but don’t put yourself at risk.

“Please don’t think you are wasting our time, your information is vital and can help us stop a thief in their tracks. Always act on your instinct, you know your local area and if something doesn’t look right, please call us. Officers are on patrol looking for thieves throughout the day and night – a call from the public can be all they need to home in on them and stop them in their tracks ”

Anyone who has any information about any of the thefts, please call North Yorkshire Police on 101. You can also pass information to the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

To report suspicious people, vehicles or behaviour, please ring 101, if you believe a crime is in progress or your safety is threatened, please ring 999.

Advice on a range of crime prevention methods is available on the force website Click here

You can also watch our online crime prevention video made jointly with the NFU which contains security advice and tips on how to keep your property secure. Log on by clicking here  To speak to an officer from your Safer Neighbourhood Team, please call 101.