JUST under one vehicle a month was stolen from Hinton Road in Bournemouth last year, new figures reveal.

In 2018, 843 cars were reported as stolen to Dorset Police, representing a ten per cent rise from 2017.

Four of the five worst streets for vehicle theft in Dorset are in Bournemouth.

They are:

  • Hinton Road, where 11 vehicles were stolen in 2018
  • Wimborne Road – nine vehicle thefts reported
  • Christchurch Road – eight vehicle thefts reported
  • Ringwood Road – eight vehicle thefts reported
  • Dorchester Road, Poole – seven vehicle thefts reported

GoCompare sent a freedom of information request to police forces around the UK in January 2019 to find out where the highest numbers of car thefts were reported. Figures on vehicle theft were provided by 17 out of the 43 police constabularies in England and Wales.

Dorset Police ranks 13th for the overall number of vehicle thefts out of the 17 constabularies analysed, but it recorded the 11th highest increase in thefts.

In the 17 constabularies analysed, Kent Police recorded the highest number of vehicle thefts in both 2017 and 2018. Last year, 3,444 vehicle thefts were reported in the county.

The sharpest increase was recorded in Staffordshire. The 1,805 reported thefts in 2018 are equivalent to a 34.7 per cent increase from the previous year’s tally of 1,340.

Dorset Police saw one of the lowest growth rates,

The most frequently stolen vehicles in Dorset are:

  • Ford (Transit, Fiesta, Focus)
  • Volkswagen (Polo, Golf)
  • Honda (Civic, Sport)
  • Land Rover (Defender)
  • BMW (X5), Peugeot (206)