Five taken in a month from Kent and South London
A worrying spate of Ford Cortina thefts in and around Kent and South London has police issuing fresh warnings to classic car owners. They’re now appealing for further information and witnesses.
Five of the classic repmobiles were stolen from 6 December 2015 to 9 January 2016. None has been found or returned to their owners. Three of the cars, two MkIIIs and a MkV, were taken from roughly the same area in Kent.
‘There have been three reported thefts of Cortina from addresses in Kent in recent weeks. Officers are not ruling out the possibility that these incidents are linked,’ says Kent Police spokesman Steve Knight.
There is no CCTV footage or forensic evidence officers can use. This means they are not actively investigating the offences, but will act on new evidence.
One Cortina club is planning to remove the registration numbers from cars on its website in an attempt to stem the thefts. The MkI-V Cortina Owners’ Club has emailed its 200 members warning them to be vigilant and has posted notices on its Facebook page. ‘We are very worried about this situation,’ says club spokesman Ian Reid. ‘We can only ask owners to be vigilant. Once a car is stolen it can easily lose its identity or be broken for spares.’
Simon Barrett of West Midlands Police, an expert on classic car crime, suggests owners use a ‘DNA kit’ to mark their cars. ‘There has been a rise in the theft of all classics but the spate of Cortina thefts is particularly worrying. Owners must be very careful,’ he says.
Paul Runton, chairman of the Cortina Mark Three Owners’ Club, says: ‘We’ve taken all of our committee addresses off our website – we don’t want to advertise where our cars might be. Everyone in the club is being extra vigilant.’
Contact the police on 101.
