January 17, 2013 11.44 am This story is over 133 months old

Car stolen from Lincoln village after engine left running to defrost

First “defrost theft” of the year: Police are warning people to stay with their vehicle while warming it up in the morning, due to opportunistic thieves.

Lincolnshire Police is urging residents not to leave their cars running with the keys in, after the first “defrost theft” of the year.

A white Nissan saloon was left on the drive with the engine running on Waterfront Court, Cherry Willingham on Thursday morning.

The car was stolen and found later on crashed along the A1 near Rutland.

Each year the police deal with a number of thefts due to people leaving cars running in the colder weather in order to “defrost” them before work.

Opportunistic thieves look out for this so they can then steal the car.

Officers are also reminding drivers that leaving cars unattended with the engine running, know as “quitting” a vehicle, is a criminal offence.