THE county’s residents are being urged to keep their car keys out of view in their homes following a spate of key and car thefts.

As part of Operation Drawbridge, Suffolk police’s campaign to reduce burglaries and bring offenders to justice, officers are reminding everyone to take this simple step.

Supt Phil Aves said: “It is upsetting that we have seen a spate of this type of burglary this week. “Not only are these offenders gaining access to people’s homes and stealing their possessions, but also going one step further and taking keys so that they may steal vehicles.

“If burglars have managed to get inside a home, it is essential that they are not offered ‘easy pickings’.”

It comes after three such incidents this week in Bramford, Elmswell and Ipswich.

Keys were stolen from a property in St Mary’s Close, Bramford, between 10.20pm on Monday and 7.15am on Tuesday and were used to take a white Ford Focus from the driveway.

The second happened in Elliston Close, Elmswell, on Tuesday between 1.30am and 4.45am when offenders gained the property through an unsecure door, removed car keys and took a blue BMW.

The final incident was in Derwent Road, Ipswich, when offenders broke in between 10.30pm on Tuesday and 6am on Wednesday and stole three sets of keys.

A silver Ford Focus estate and white Volkswagen Golf were taken.

Supt Aves added: “We will do all we can to try and reduce the amount of burglaries happening across the county, and we will continue to help residents in making their homes more secure.

“On the unfortunate occasions where burglars do manage to access homes, we must ensure that we do not make their lives easy, by giving access to valuable possessions.”

Call 101 with information.