Theft of vital car parts in Horsham sparks police warning

Lyn Roberts, who lives in Broadbridge Heath but works in Horsham, had the catalytic converter taken from her Honda Jazz which was parked in the Hop Oast Park and Ride on November 5.

She said: “It’s all a lot of hassle. I feel really angry.

“I was at work to earn money and then I come and now I have got a big bill for my excess.”

But Horsham Police has today (November 18) issued an appeal on Twitter for information following ‘reports of catalytic converters being stolen from cars in the Horsham area in the last few days’.

A spokesman added: “If you saw anyone acting suspiciously around vehicles or have any dash cam or CCTV footage please contact us.”

Lyn said she called the AA whose ‘really nice’ worker alerted the police to the theft.

But she added that she was concerned about the lack of cameras in the car park.

Lyn said: “Not to have cameras in this day and age seems a bit crazy.

“I wouldn’t park it there again. I leave the car at home and get the bus and walk in.”

An AA spokesman said the crime tends to be an ‘occasional theft’ and urged the public to photograph suspicious behaviour and report it to police.

The spokesman added: “When you’re going under a car and cutting off a section of exhaust - and you’re doing it in a car park - it looks incredibly suspicious.

“Common sense should tell anybody that you don’t carry out car maintenance in a car park.”

He said the crime was ‘very similar’ to fuel theft.

The spokesman added: “It needs a specialist knowledge to do it quickly. Anybody with a catalytic converter shouldn’t panic.

“For a large percentage of cars the cats (catalytic converters) are so difficult to get at that it’s nigh on impossible to steal them. It’s an item that’s covered by your insurance.

“You struggle to understand why the thieves are taking such big risks getting something for so little return.”

He said what thieves ‘don’t seem to understand’ is that specialist processing is required to retrieve the valuable metals inside the catalytic converter.

The spokesman added: “The simplest message is if this is a public car park and there’s somebody under a car they’re very likely up to no good.”

A police spokeswoman said: “Sussex Police received a report of a catalytic converter being stolen from a car in Worthing Road, Horsham between 8am and 5pm on Tuesday, November 5.

“Lines of enquiry have been investigated and the case has been filed pending any further lines of enquiry.”

A Horsham District Council spokeswoman said: “The council is sorry to hear of this incident at the Hop Oast Park and Ride Car Park recently and the stress and inconvenience it has caused to this particular lady.

“We can confirm that CCTV cameras are not in operation in this car park and we continue to appeal to the public to be vigilant and report any suspicious activity to the police.”