Large screen Plasma televisions are selling like the proverbial hotcakes in the run up to the World Cup finals - and they are also a prime target for thieves, prompting a warning from crime prevention officers and the Safer Rotherham Partnership.

"As sales increase, so do thefts, " said Crime Scene Assessor Dene Tinker. "And people who have their Plasma television stolen are often hit with a double whammy when they find they are not fully covered by their insurance.

Dene explained: "Many household insurance policies have a maximum cover clause of £500 per item which means the company will not pay out more than £500 on any one item.

"With most Plasma televisions costing more than £1,000, unless you contact your insurance company and take out special insurance, you will not receive the full value of the television if it is stolen.

"We had a case recently where a man had his Plasma television stolen. He had bought the television on hire purchase and not taken out the necessary insurance. The insurance company paid him just £500 - leaving him with no television AND paying instalments for the next two years. "

Dene said insurance companies were also reducing payouts where it could be shown there had been contributory negligence by the policy holder.

"If you leave property by an open window or do not lock your doors, insurance companies will very often reduce the amount they prepared to pay out, " said Dene. "Leaving anything protected by just a pane of glass is an open invitation to a thief.

"We are now getting a lot of what we call two in one thefts. That is where a thief breaks into your home, steals the car keys and then returns later and steals your car.

"Even when you are in the house, put you car keys where they cannot be seen. Lock the doors to your house but leave the keys where everyone in the house knows where they are in case of an emergency.

"Do not leave your car keys and your house keys on a table in the hall - that is exactly where a thief expects them to be.

"If you have a Plasma television, make sure it is properly insured. Remember that Plasma televisions can often be easily seen from the road, so think about net curtains or vertical blinds to hide them from prying eyes.

"Invest a few more pounds in a Secured by Design steel cable lock, similar to a cycle lock, and secure the Plasma television to the stand or the floor to make them difficult to steal.

"And, of course, use an ultra violet marker pen to mark it with your post code and house number in case it is stolen. The pens are available free from your local police station and from the Rotherham Community Safety and Advice Centre at Howard Street in the town centre.

"It"s easy to think "Oh it won"t happen to me", but if everyone took a few simple precautions, we could make life so much more difficult for the thieves, " Dene added.

Reducing domestic burglaries, vehicle crime and business crime in the borough is one of the eight priorities in the Safer Rotherham Partnership"s strategy for reducing crime and disorder in the borough.

In the last three years domestic burglaries in Rotherham have been reduced by 49 per cent and vehicle crime has been reduced by 33 per cent.

30 May 2006