Thieves in St Albans have been targeting owners of expensive vehicles.

Police are warning drivers to keep their car keys out of sight, preferably upstairs, after a spate of burglaries where cars have been stolen from driveways.

St Albans detective inspector Alex Warwick said: “Expensive cars have been targeted by thieves in Park Street, Frogmore and Bricket Wood in the last three days – make sure yours is not next.”

A Mercedes-Benz was stolen from the driveway of an home in Mount Drive in Park Street between 10.30pm on November 27 and 6am on November 28. The thief had stolen the keys and cash from inside the address.

An attempted burglary took place at another address, with a high-value car on the driveway, in Mount Drive at 3am on November 28.

Thieves were disturbed by the occupants in Avian Avenue in Frogmore, which had another expensive car parked outside, between 3.15am and 3.20am on November 28.

Oliver Darcy, 28, of Templeton Road in Tottenham and Andrew Rawlings, 29, of Denton Close in Luton were arrested following a burglary in Bricket Wood on Monday (November 27).

They have both been charged with conspiracy to steal between October 3 and November 28, 2017. The charges relate to the theft of motor vehicles in St Albans, Hoddesdon, Stevenage and Bedfordshire.

Det Insp Warwick said: “We have robust plans in place, which include extra high-visibility and covert police patrols and we made two arrests on Monday.

“However, we cannot be in every street, so the best thing is to help reduce your chance of being a victim of crime by keeping your car keys away from your letter box and front door.

“Burglars want to be in and out quickly without being seen, so will not usually spend time searching for keys. Consider investing in a steering lock – it will make your car harder to steal.

“If you have a garage and have two cars, consider parking one in the garage and leave the other one on the drive. Also make sure you properly secure your front door, double locking PVCu doors.”

Police also advise that key fobs should never be left close to doors or windows, where thieves are able to use equipment which can pick up the signal from the key fob and relay it to the vehicle to unlock the doors.