Be careful and dont leave em layin round... **** dont leave em hooked to your car in the street
A bizarre crime spree is surging across Melbourne’s bayside suburbs as a demand for campervans and caravans grows.
Thieves have been targeting the mobile homes, purchased by holidaymakers hoping to hit the road instead of heading overseas.
CCTV footage showed how quickly they can be stolen, with one thief arriving at a Mordialloc home on foot and spending only minutes unhooking the campervan and driving away with it.
That caravan belonged to the Hopkins family who had only just taken it out of storage in preparation for a trip to South Australia.
They were asleep on New Year’s Eve when it was stolen from outside their home.
“We got up in the morning, went out to walk the dog and it’s gone,” Katie Hopkins told 7NEWS.
“This has been our family holidays for years. We’ve travelled around half of Australia in it. We spent six months living out of it.
“It’s got amazing memories for us and it’s something we worked really hard to get.”
Without the option of overseas holidays, Australians are buying caravans in droves.
The strong demand has caused a spike in thefts from Mordialloc, Hampton, Parkdale and Black Rock in the month of January alone.
Jayco National Sales Manager Scott Jones said they have seen a 35 per cent increase in new and used caravans, which took them “by surprise”.
Anyone considering buying a campervan or caravan second hand are urged to check the VIN number.
If it is found to be stolen, the buyer could risk losing the vehicle and the money paid for it.
Jones recommended putting a padlock on the coupling of the vehicle or using wheel clamps.
https://7news.com.au/news/crime/melbourne-crime-spree-after-caravans-and-campervans-stolen-in-hampton-black-rock-and-mordialloc-c-2043484
