Industry News from Yes Insurance

Car owners in Dorking, Surrey, can rest a little easier after a serial thief was banned from a number of car parks in the county.

Ian Harris has been handed a two-year Anti-Social Behaviour Order (Asbo) after repeatedly targeting parked cars and forcing owners to make a claim to their car insurance provider.

The 24-year-old was arrested in May after getting caught trying to sell an air rifle which he had stolen from a parked car earlier that month.

The true extent of Mr Harris' criminal past was revealed when police searched his house, discovering a laptop which had also been taken from a local car park.

Thirteen other offences were also taken into consideration when Mr Harris was sentenced, all of which were related to theft from car parks in the Mole Valley area.

"Harris has persistently been involved in vehicle crime at beauty spots around Mole Valley and so we have taken the measure of obtaining this Asbo in order to put a stop to his behaviour," said East Surrey Asbo coordinator Sergeant Paul Chisnall.

"People out enjoying the Mole Valley countryside should not have to endure the distress of having their vehicles broken into and we will use every tool we have to put a stop to it."

Mr Harris' Asbo prevents him from causing alarm, harassment or distress to anyone in Surrey, as well as forbidding him from entering any National Trust or Forestry Commission car park in the county.

"If Harris so much as sets foot in a car park owned by the National Trust or Forestry Commission or if he breaches any of the other conditions of his order we can arrest him and he could be imprisoned for up to five years," added Sergeant Chisnall.

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