High-tech thieves stealing cars without the keys

MORE THAN one in three vehicles stolen in London are taken by hackers who do not have the owner's keys, the Home Secretary has revealed.

Sophisticated car thieves are breaking into cars and programming new electronic keys instead, Theresa May said in a speech in Westminister. The hi-tech theft was given as an example of changing threats faced by police in modern Britain.

Working with the Metropolitan Police, the Home Office has discovered car thieves are also using sophisticated devices to "grab" the security coding when the owner uses their key so they can use it themselves.

By Press Association reporters