MEMBERS of the business community are to receive advice on how to keep themselves safe after a resurgence of carjackings in Prestwich.

Inspector David Jones, head of Prestwich and Whitefield township, will address Prestwich Business Forum on Tuesday evening after concerns were raised by members.

As reported in last week's Guide, a father had to grab his sleeping son from the back of his vehicle before car thieves made off with his Saab 93 from Dashwood Road.

A few days before, a man was dragged from his VW Golf in Hilton Lane, and in February there were two further incidents in the Prestwich and Whitefield area.

Carl Bradshaw, of Prestwich Business Forum, said: "I invited Greater Manchester Police to the meeting as a number of members had expressed an interest in the subject. I wouldn't say they are particularly worried about it, but are interested in the number and type of crime."

Insp Jones said he would be telling people to be more aware of their surroundings when they are with their vehicle but said Prestwich was no worse than elsewhere in Greater Manchester.

He said: "Since the incident with the father and his child two weeks ago, there have been no other car jackings. There are other incidents that are just as serious, such as street robberies, and I will be reminding people of that. Car jackings are not as common as people might think and we have less incidents of serious robbery in this division than elsewhere in the force."

Insp Jones said the advice he would give to people was to be aware of what is going on around them.

He added: "For many of us it is the most automatic thing we do; we drive to work and home again without thinking about it as we do it every day. But we have to be more aware and if we see something suspicious, ride around the block or don't stop the car. It is not about having the siege mentality, but about being intelligent about how we lead our lives."