Land Rover Defender theft continues to rise

Land Rover Defenders across the south west are being targeted by thieves.

Last year theft of the iconic vehicles rose by 34 per cent and that is expected to rise again this year.

Stephen Murgatroyd of St Agnes in Cornwall has fallen victim.

Thieves managed to bypass an alarm and steering lock to steal his Defender from the driveway, before using it in an attempted cashpoint raid.

They took it in the early hours without alerting the 65-year-old, or his neighbours, and he only found out the vehicle had gone when a policeman friend rang him to say it had been discovered elsewhere.