DRIVERS in Ryedale are being warned to be extra vigilant in an effort to crack down on car thieves.

The warnings, from police in the district, follow a spate of thefts from cars in the area over the last week.

Car drivers visiting Ryedale's beauty spots are being warned they, too, could be potential targets of thieves.

Since Sunday there have been seven separate incidents of thefts from cars in the Ryedale area.

"We are particularly keen to warn visitors to the area that they must take care to lock their car doors and never to leave anything on show," said Sergeant Cliff Edens, of Malton Police.

"If a thief sees a bag on the back seat he will often break into the car only to find it contains nothing valuable.

"The thief won't know that until he has broken into the car to find out."

The warnings came as North Yorkshire Police launched its 'Thieves Beware' campaign. "We have created a small hanging which hooks around the rear view mirror warning potential thieves that all items of value have been removed from the vehicle," said Sgt Edens.

"We have recently sent out letters to builders in the area warning them not to leave their tools in their van overnight.

"We have had a few instances of thieves targeting builders vans and making off with hundreds of pounds worth of gear.

"This has been a problem in Scarborough and it has started happening in Ryedale."

The most recent thefts include power tools taken from a Nissan car which was broken into while it was parked at the rear of Eastgate, in Pickering, between 12.30am and 6.30am on Sunday.

Overnight on Saturday, thieves broke into a vehicle parked in the Forest and Vale pub car park, in Pickering, making off with a CD player worth £150 and clothing worth £560.

A CD player worth £200 and CDs valued at £250 were taken from a black Ford Fiesta parked in Pickering on Saturday.

Meanwhile, on Sunday a car was broken into at Hazel Head tourist spot car park between Hawnby and Osmotherly and a coat worth £100 was taken.

At Rosedale Abbey, a VW Golf was broken into. Nothing was taken but a window, valued at £100, was smashed.

Finally, a handbag and a purse, containing £25 was taken from a Skoda vehicle parked on Chimney Bank, at Rosedale, at 1.30pm on Sunday.

Updated: 08:52 Tuesday, September 10, 2002