WATCH OUT. Stealing catalytic converters is an increasing problem.
A catalytic converter is a box on the exhaust pipe under certain types of car. It contains expensive metals such as palladium and platinum so thieves can sell them for a couple of hundred pounds each, but it could cost you up to £2000 to replace it. Typical targets are Honda Accord, Honda Jazz, Toyota Prius and Toyota Auris.
To steal it, thieves slide under the car and use high-powered cutting tools to separate it from the pipes around it. Because they need to get underneath the thieves will target vehicles with a high chassis, such as a 4x4 or an SUV, or vehicles parked part on and part off the pavement so there is more room to access.
There are some things you can do to protect your vehicle which are in the attached police document.
