Spate of Ford Transit Thefts

27/01/2016
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In The News

How have thieves been targeting vans?

Throughout January there have been dozens of news reports regarding van thefts in the UK. Many new vehicles have been stolen due to key cloning, keyless theft and the purchasing of skeleton keys. The scariest thing about this? The tools that are being used cost as little as £16!

These new techniques used by thieves mean that some vehicles can be stolen, started and driven away in less than four minutes – without breaking a single pane of glass, bending or damaging door panels or cutting through any locks.

Which vans are being targeted?

47000 Commercial vehicles are stolen each year, costing more than £152m in lost assets. These assets include the goods inside of vehicles, as well as the actual vehicles.

Most stolen vans and commercial vehicles, by percentage of thefts:

Ford Transit 17.6%
Land Rover 17.6%
Mercedes Sprinter 11.8%
Volkswagen Transporter 11.8%
Fiat Ducato 5.9%
Ford Ranger 5.9%
Nissan D22 5.9%
Nissan Navara 5.9%
Peugeot Expert 5.9%
Renault Trafic 5.9%
Vauxhall Vivaro 5.9%

(Statistics form Burnt Tree Vehicle Rentals).

How can I protect my van from vehicle theft?

Whether protecting the contents of your van, or the van itself, we have a solution for you. Our expert engineers are spread out across the UK and we are specialists in van security.

Here are some of the extra security measures we recommend:

1) Locks – We supply and fit deadlocks and slamlocks. We offer standard lock or Thatcham accredited locks for a small extra cost. The main difference between deadlocks and slamlocks is that a deadlock still needs to be operated by a key, where as a slamlock locks automatically when the vehicle door is closed. You will still need the key to open a slamlock, however. Find out more about the difference between deadlocks and slamlocks by clicking here. Locks are highly recommended to protect yourself against van theft, and have had proven benefits with our customers. Locks are ideal because they protect against keyless theft (as they work on a seperate system) and they prevent a thief trying to break in with a crow bar (or similar). If you don’t want a deadlock or slamlock fitted to your van, we also supply and fit Armaplate Guardian and Armaplate Sentinel.

2) Catalytic security – The metal in a catalytic converter is worth a lot of money, and therefore catalytic converters are often targeted by thieves. We offer catalytic security equipment, including CatShield and ArmaCat, which are designed to deter thieves and make it a lot harder for them to steal your converter.

3) Vehicle tracking – From fleet tracking to insurance approved tracking, we have expert engineers spread across the UK. Fitting a tracker provides peace of mind and allows for a stolen vehicle to be recovered more easily. We have a range of trackers available from top suppliers including: Track It Now, Tracker Network Ltd, SmarTrack, Trafficmaster Trackstar, Scorpion Automotive and more. View our range.

4) Alarms and immobilisers – Alarms act as a great deterrent as they will scare thieves off and alert you when your van is being broken into. Immobilisers prevent a thief driving off with your van. The immobiliser should be supplemented by an alarm as an additional deterrent against both theft-of and theft-from. We sell Thatcham accredited alarms and immobilisers, which could get you a discount with your insurance.

5) Security boxes – These boxes protect tools and equipment from theft so that, even if a thief does manage to break into your vehicle, all valuable items are secured. We sell security boxes in a range of sizes from top brands, such as Tuffboxes, ArmorGard and Van Vault. The boxes can be bolted onto the floor of your vehicle for extra security and start from only £144.

The following news stories highlight just how many van thefts have occurred recently:
Van thefts have been reported in Newark.
West Yorkshire and Lancashire recently made arrests.
Grimsby have had a number of van thefts this month.
Brighton and Hove reported 20 thefts in 21 days.
Van owners reminded about security after a number of thefts in the Chesterfield, Bolsover, North East Derbyshire and the Amber Valley areas.

Paul Randall

2024-03-14

First Class! Dave and the team are fantastic. The fit on our first Mobile Bike Service and Repair Van could not be any better. From the very beginning, through the design process, all the way to completion I cannot fault a single thing. As I write this, our second van is being fitted to exactly the same specification and the third van is on the way. Long may this partnership continue!

Tim Lees

2024-02-20

Very helpful and patient with an older guy who was a bit nervous ordering from a company I didn't know. The product I wanted wasn't on their website but I thought it worth asking and they had it at a good price. It came the next day and worked perfectly.

Richard Shepherd

2024-01-17

I highly recommend Lee, Dave and the Team at Vehicle Accessories after they did a fantastic job for a one off bespoke van fit for my business. I approached them with a rather radical high concept idea, Dave did a great job taking notes from my extensive brief. He made a great effort to listen and take notes along the way making sure he understood and made suggestions for materials which really led to a much better end product. A particular highlight was a suggestion for them to fabricate a wall mounted Steal Mesh cage system for my equipment which far exceeded my expectations of quality and engineering. During the planning stage and construction suggestions were made to change materials and systems for what they thought would work better for the project as it developed. The end product was perfect and done to a very high standard, it really turned out better than I ever hoped for. Communication throughout was excellent with regular updates, fast responses and easy dialogue when confirming details or discussing changes. Changes were managed quickly and efficiently throughout the build with a great deal of flexibility and professionalism. Even though I was just having just one bespoke build being done for myself I felt highly valued as a customer and treated with the same level of respect and attentiveness as someone ordering a fleet. The quality of work and customer service will certainly mean I’ll be coming back for my next van project.

Philip Taylor Ashby

2023-12-26

Lee and his helpful staff sorted my lock problem that made it easy to break in or steal and at there Christmas closing time🙏, friendly helpful and reasonable thank you all.

Mark Elliott

2023-05-23

Great choice of equipment to fit and all done efficiently. They have designed and fitted racking to 75 vehicle for us in the last year.

Ross Thomson

2023-05-20

I can’t recommend Lee and his team of wizards enough. They fitted the gas with all the safety requirements and modified / adapted several parts of the electrics. They went above and beyond my expectations - I won’t hesitate to use them again.

Andrew Young

2023-04-13

What can say.... the order process was simple, prices competitive and when it was realised that I had ordered 2 incompatible parts I got a call to check and recify the order. Collection was easy and the install team did a quick, neat job. Job done....until next time thank you

Annie Meadows

2023-02-28

Dave, Lee and the team at VA moved crates from my old van to a new one. Easy to communicate with, quick turn around, met all my requests, made good suggestions (such as putting in a waterproof floor) and did an excellent job. Highly recommend.

miles leech

2022-12-22

Big thanks to Dave and the rest of the Vehicle Accessories team. They've done a great job fitting security locks and a floor in my new van. They also moved over my racking and interior lights from my previous van while going out of there way to make it all fit. Excellent service, very efficient and professional. Highly recommended and nice people to deal with. Thanks Miles Ashton Gas