Warning issued to UK drivers defrosting cars – ‘perfect for thieves’ | UK | News
Drivers have been urged to avoid a common mistake in cold weather that could make their cars a prime target for thieves. Much of Britain will be under yellow weather warnings for snow and ice for the next few days as cold, wintry conditions continue.
One, covering dozens of local authorities in Central, Tayside & Fife, Grampian, Highlands & Eilean Siar, Orkney & Shetland, SW Scotland, Lothian Borders and Strathclyde, will come into force at 4pm today (Thursday, February 12) and last until noon tomorrow. The second one, covering multiple local authorities in the East Midlands, North East England, North West England, South West Scotland, Lothian Borders, West Midlands and Yorkshire & Humber, will take place from 7pm today.
It will also continue until noon. In both cases, icy roads and surfaces cause travel disruption. Drivers will be all too familiar with having to de-ice their windshield in cold weather.
But Rhoddy MacKinnon, Group Construction Director David Wilson Houses warned of surveillance that leaves vehicles vulnerable to opportunistic car thieves.
“De-icing your car is never a fun task when there are icy conditions on the road,” he said. “However, this can also be risky as thieves target cars left unattended while defrosting.
“This creates an excellent opportunity as cars are often left running with the keys inside. This practice, sometimes referred to as ‘freezing’, is becoming increasingly common.
To prevent this from happening, he recommends staying by your car while it’s defrosting, “no matter how tempting it may be to get inside for a few minutes.”
This may be timely advice, given the grim conditions that will affect parts of the country in the coming hours.
Met Office spokesman Grahame Madge said: “We currently have warnings for parts of Scotland, particularly the east and south-west of Glasgow. These are rain warnings, but will increasingly include some snow as conditions cool.
“Over the next few days, and indeed starting from northern Scotland from today, we will start to see the onslaught of an air mass called Arctic maritime air, which will lower temperatures.
“This will begin to extend southwards from Scotland into parts of northern England, possibly moving further south by the end of the week.
“There may be snow showers at lower levels. Therefore, the snow and ice warnings we are currently issuing cover most of Scotland and the northern parts of England. There may be snow showers a little further south.”
“We’re not expecting any particularly significant snow and conditions will be fairly brief until another system arrives from the Atlantic over the weekend, but the next few days will feel a bit different as colder air arrives.”
You can find the latest yellow weather warnings and guidance at: Met Office website.
