Dudley police take keys as cars warming up

Police have taken the keys from more than 30 cars which were left warming up unattended outside their owners' homes as the cold snap starts to bite - and thieves target easy pickings on frosty mornings.

Five cars were stolen in the Black Country yesterday as their owners left them to defrost.

Officers in Dudley removed the keys from more than 30 vehicles which they spotted unattended before returning them to their owners who had gone back inside their properties.

One grateful resident in Stourbridge even gave officers a box of chocolates after they returned the keys from her Lexus. The car was one of seven in one street that left insecure yesterday.

Inspector John Bostock said: "It only takes a moment for a thief to jump in. and insurance companies usually refuse to pay out in these cases."

Five cars were stolen in similar circumstances in Coseley, Wall Heath, Sedgley, Tipton and Essington yesterday morning.