Residents in a Shropshire village have been warned to keep their valuables safe and out of view after thieves carried out a series of raids on cars. The alert comes from resident Paul King.

Mr King, of Dorrington, was one of several motorists who woke up on Saturday morning to discover his car had been broken into overnight.

He said the thieves had struck seven vehicles that were parked on driveways in The Maitlands and The Limes Paddock.

Mr King has now warned people in the village to be aware and not to leave any valuables in their cars overnight.

He said: “The people that do this obviously have no thought for people’s feelings. They have taken what they want which includes sat-navs and mobile phones. I’m never going to leave anything in my car again.”

Mr King said police had told him they are confident of tracking down the culprits because of the amount of vehicles they broke into.

Police said hundreds of pounds worth of electrical goods were stolen by the thieves during the break-ins which happened between 7.15pm on Friday evening and Saturday morning.

Thieves and vandals also went on a wrecking spree in Telford on Friday night and Saturday morning. Three vehicles were stolen and more than 20 were damaged causing thousands of pounds worth of damage.

Constable Stuart Ind, spokesman for Telford police, said the incidents were clearly linked.

“We would urge people not to leave anything valuable in their vehicle,” he added.