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Revealed: Car crime capital of the UK
15.10.09
The car crime capital of the UK is Chislehurst in south-east London, according to an analysis of insurance claims.
A total of 3.82% of motorists in Chislehurst, which is in the London borough of Bromley, claimed for theft from, or of, a car in the last 12 months, according to data from moneysupermarket.com.
The second-worst theft spot was Wingate in Durham, followed by Redbridge in east London, the Hatfield district of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, and Manchester city centre.
A number of other east London areas - including the centre of Romford, Buckhurst Hill, Woodford Green and Hornchurch - also featured high in the car crime list.
Among large urban areas badly affected by car crime were Cardiff, Sheffield and Leeds.
Moneysupermarket.com motor insurance head Steve Sweeney said: "I am not surprised to see metropolitan areas of the country such as Manchester and Sheffield fall in the top 20 postcode areas.
"However, what the research does reveal is that a broad mix of places across the country are at risk, highlighting the issue that no matter where you live, there is always a chance you could become a victim of theft. Motorists should take this risk seriously."
These were the top 10 areas with the largest percentage of motorists who made car crime insurance claims in the period September 2008 to
August 2009
1. Chislehurst, south east London
2. Wingate, Durham
3. Redbridge, east London
4. Hatfield, Doncaster
5. Manchester city centre
6. Banwell, Somerset
7. Bradford city centre, West Yorkshire
8. Arbourthorne, Sheffield
9. New Tredegar, Newport, south Wales
10. Romford town centre, east London
Reader views (3)
What about us Scousers? We are left out of everything!
Everybody knows we spend all our spare time stealing cars.
- Peter, Liverpool, UK
Bob, cheam - quite possibly. Have you been to Chislehurst recently? Full of rich chavs in 4 x 4's. No longer the leafy burb of the past now part of the inkblot that is Bromley & croydon (soon to join up).
- Ranter, Maidstone, UK
Chislehurst? Seriously? Are the Morlocks coming out of the caves and stealing cars at night?
- Bob, Cheam
