SEVENTY-FIVE cars have been broken into on Bolton's town centre car parks in just three days.

It is more than double the number recorded in an average week.

Police chiefs do not know the exact reason behind the sudden increase but believe several thieves are currently operating in the area, attracted by shoppers and office workers who leave items on display in their cars.

A prime target are car CD players, but Sgt Bill Crittenden, of Bolton police, said the thieves said the raiders are attracted by any item left on show.

Dozens of motorists have fallen victim to the thieves, parked mainly in the Morrisons car park off Trinity Street, and in car parks and on-street parking spaces in the Manchester Road and Great Moor Street areas.

They have returned to their vehicles to find smashed windows and damaged doors.

Bolton police are now mounting a purge, compiling leaflets to hand out to motorists and patrolling the worst hit areas. The leaflets are for drivers to put on their car windows to warn thieves that there an no valuables left inside. "But obviously, it defeats the object of the exercise if people also then leave anything on display," said Sgt Crittenden.

"People need to be more careful and take everything with them or hide it."

He added that parking in secure, approved car parks also acts as a deterrent to thieves. There were 4,902 recorded incidents of thefts from vehicles in Bolton last year, a rise of 16.5 per cent on 2000/01 when there were 4,208 incidents.