SCOOTER and car-owners in Oswaldtwistle and Accrington have been warned to keep their vehicles secure, after a series of thefts and attempted break-ins over the Easter weekend.

A yellow scooter, a P-registration Gilera Runner 125, was stolen at Holly Street, Oswaldtwistle, between 11pm on Sunday and the early hours of yesterday.

And a car was targeted at nearby Aspen Lane, where a Kodak camera, Packard-Bell computer, CDs and cash worth a total £1,800, were taken while a woman driver took shopping into a home yesterday.

The woman is particularly upset because the camera contained pictures of a two-week old baby, said Sgt Clare Holbrook, of Accrington police.

Also in Accrington early yesterday, a Vauxhall Corsa was broken into outside a Monk Street home. Nothing was taken but thieves smashed a driver's-side window to gain entry to the car.

And a red N-registered Ford Fiesta was interfered with at Duke Street, again in Oswaldtwistle. A tool, perhaps a jemmy, was used to open a rear door, but the thieves failed to get inside the car.

The latest crimes follow an attempted theft of a white H-registration Ford Orion at Trinity Street on Saturday night. The car was pushed 20-feet up the street but then abandoned with a flat battery.

Sgt Clare Holbrook, of Accrington police, said police were working hard to tackle the problem. And she urged the public to come forward with any information which may be of use.

She said vehicles were also broken into at Accrington and Church.

A black Renault Clio car was targeted yesterday, parked at the Homebase store car park, at Hyndburn Road. A screwdriver or something similar was used to enter the vehicle, which badly damaged a door. And a CD player was removed from the dashboard and DVD disk taken from the glovebox.

Sgt Holbrook said: "The car park was very busy at the time, but offenders seem quite keen to break into cars at all the large stores along Hyndburn Road."

At Church, a blue-and-orange coloured Peugeot motorcycle worth £1,500 , was stolen from a house at France Street in the early hours of Saturday morning. It had a PJ-registration plate.

Accrington police can be contacted on 01254 382141.