Motorists are being warned to protect their vehicles after a spate of catalytic converter thefts.

Several of the valuable exhaust parts were stolen across Ashford and Folkestone yesterday.

Catalytic converters are located underneath vehicles, cleaning up harmful gases before they are emitted from the car's exhaust.

They are often targeted by criminals for their precious metals, including palladium and rhodium, which can be resold at illegal scrap merchants.

The first incident is believed to have taken place at around 3.40am when suspicious activity was reported in Langdon Road in Folkestone.

A resident later discovered the catalytic converter had been stolen from his car.

At around 4.50pm the same day, another converter was stolen from a vehicle in Canterbury Road, Kennington.

"We encourage residents to be vigilant and report anything to us straight away"

A similar event happened on the same day in Upper Denmark Road, Ashford.

The incidents are the latest in what has been a dramatic rise in so-called 'cat thefts' in the last year.

Police have seen a year-on-year increase in the number of emissions devices being stolen, with 214 taken in 2019 up until October 28.

Inspector Jason Atkinson, of Ashford Community Safety Unit, said: "Kent Police is committed to tackling this type of crime and we encourage residents to be vigilant and report anything to us straight away, including anybody seen acting suspiciously around vehicles, while we seek to identify those people responsible for these thefts."

Anyone with information relating to these incidents is asked to contact Kent Police on 01843 222289, quoting reference 46/81435/20.

You can also call Crimestoppers on 0800 555111 or complete the online form at www.crimestoppers-uk.org.

Read more: All the latest news from Ashford

Read more: All the latest news from Folkestone