POLICE say two men have been arrested after a spate of thefts and burglaries which occurred on the same night.

One of the men has been charged with burglary after two cars were allegedly stolen from outside a house in Hanoverian Way, Whiteley, just after midnight yesterday.

Police recovered one of the vehicles - a Vauxhall Astra - a few hours later and detained two men from Portsmouth.

Liam Barry Whittaker, 25, of Bedford Street, has been charged with burglary and is due to appear at Portsmouth Magistrates' Court today.

A 32-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of handling stolen goods. He has been released from police custody but remains under investigation.

Police are still trying to find the other stolen vehicle - a blue Ford Focus with the registration number FH15YMO.

A police spokeswoman said officers were also investigating four other incidents which occurred between 11.30pm on January 9 and 1.15am on January 10.

A householder living at Brabant Close in Whiteley reported their door handle had been tried.

A similar incident occurred at Danube Drive in Swanwick, where two men also tried to break into a car.

A hat was stolen from a car parked in Persian Drive, Whiteley, and a garage in Calabrese Way, Swanwick was also broken into.

The police spokeswoman said neighbourhood officers were carrying out extra patrols in the area.

She added: "If you have any information which could assist, or if you live in this area and have private CCTV, please call 101 and quote 44190010773."