At Parish Council last night, our excellent Neighbourhood Watch Coordinator reported an alarming rise in car thefts in Burbage - 8 in the last month.

These are not cars that have been broken into, but where the keys to the vehicle have been snatched from inside the house. People do need to make sure that their keys are kept somewhere well out of sight of any marauding thieves. At the moment high performance and new cars are being targeted.

Burbage’s proximity to the motorway network does make us a target unfortunately.

It only takes five seconds for someone to swipe your keys - don’t give them the chance.

P.S. Some wag did suggest to me afterwards that a potential way forward would be to buy a car from the British Leyland era, as then there would be a better than evens chance that any would be thief would need a push to effect his/her getaway.

I see David Cameron’s bike got nicked last week.

I am sure this will result in a Commission on Bicycle Theft.