Lancashire Police 

Boasting the eighth highest population in the country, Lancashire is home to a number of large towns, including Blackburn, Burnley, Bolton, Rochdale, Oldham and Wigan.

Car crime is prevalent in all of the major towns and the region has a considerable average crime rate of 219 offences per 10,000 cars.

Burnley has the worst car crime rate with 317 offences per 10,000 vehicles, and Blackpool is rated second with 254 incidents of car crime. However, it should be noted that Blackpool attracts large number of cars during the summer months, which will attribute to a surge in car numbers and crime. Fleetwood and Thornton-Cleveleys also recorded increased levels of activity, showing car crooks do quite literally follow the tourists along the west coast.

Other hotspots include Blackburn and Preston, with the latter’s town centre recording 171 comparable offences. The safest area in Lancashire in 2011-2012 was Carnforth, with just 26 incidents per 10,000 vehicles.

Mercedes-Benz was the most targeted make of car in 2011-2012, with 282 recorded offences per 10,000 cars. Peugeot and Volvo were also attacked by car criminals, with 252 and 241 comparable incidents recorded respectively. Lexus and Jaguar were the vehicles least targeted. 

See also: Top 10 Cars Stolen to order / Top 10 Most Stolen Cars / Crime homepage