Thieves targeting catalytic converters, say police

The thefts come at a time of rapidly increasing prices for precious metals such as platinum, which is a key component of the converters. Officers in Dunstable said that since the beginning of the month catalytic converters had been stolen from nearly 20 cars - parked mainly at commercial premises in the area.

Detective Inspector Jon Gilbert, said: "This is not a problem confined to Bedfordshire. We are doing all we can to trace the offenders, but we want the trade and public to be alert so they can take the appropriate security steps and know to contact us if they see anything out of the ordinary."

Van drivers in Cheltenham and Tewkesbury have also recently fallen victim to a spate of catalytic converter thefts.

A Gloucestershire police spokeswoman said: "The parts tend to be stolen from commercial vehicles and are taken for the precious metal contained in them."