Thieves have been targeting vehicles in car parks across Surrey.

This month there have been 16 thefts from motor vehicles reported across Elmbridge, Runnymede and Spelthorne, with the majority of vehicles left in public or business car parks.

In almost every case, the offenders have smashed a window and stolen items such as satellite navigation systems, laptops and bags.

The most recent incident took place in the car park of the Plough public house in Station Road, Cobham, between 6.15pm and 7.15pm on Wednesday, January 25.

The thieves smashed the back windscreen of a blue Toyota Avensis before stealing items, which included a laptop.

Detective Inspector Stewart Leahy said: “Surrey Police are taking the recent spate of thefts from vehicles very seriously and we are doing everything possible to bring the offenders to justice.

“We are working closely with our neighbourhood teams to ensure that both during the day and in the evenings we are carrying out high visibility foot and vehicle patrols in the areas where the offences are taking place.

“However, we need the public to be our eyes and ears in the community and inform us of any suspicious activity so that we can take positive action swiftly.”

He asked people to be vigilant and remove all valuables from their locked vehicles.