POLICE will be pinching car keys -- in a bid to reduce vehicle thefts on cold mornings.

Officers are hitting the streets on icy mornings to track cars left unattended on driveways with their engines running and the keys in the ignition -- while the windows are defrosting.

Inspector Steve Clark, told the town's area board on Monday night, that if cars are spotted idling with no driver, the keys will be taken and posted back through the owner's letterbox, along with a complimentary ice scraper.

He said: "We are really pushing this with people. And hopefully the shock will stop people leaving their cars unattended. It is so easy for them to be taken. All a thief will need to get away is the keys."

The number of cars being broken into in Radcliffe is on the wane, according to Inspector Clark, who believes the surveillance cameras installed at the Metrolink car park, off Spring Lane, is major factor in the reduction.

He told the meeting at Radcliffe Civic Suite that the problems with security on the car park had in the past contributed to the high figures in the town.

Inspector Clark added: "The figure is also coming down due to the number of newer cars on the road now. Cars with a V-registration and subsequent ones are less likely to be pinched because they are often fitted with an immobiliser."

Inspector Clark also warned drivers to be on their guard, following three car-jackings in Radcliffe since December.

He said the cars -- in Abden Street, Bowker Street and Poolfield Close -- could have been easily recovered if they had been fitted with a tracker system.

He said: "Cars that are involved in car-jackings are often high-powered and expensive. If a tracker system is installed, cars stolen in this way can be traced in about half an hour."