Car thefts increased last year in Wiltshire according to the latest police recorded crime figures, likely propelled by an increase in keyless cars.

The trend has led vehicle manufacturers to demand tighter controls on the “open sale” of equipment used by criminals to steal cars.

Between April 2017 and March 2018, 696 vehicles were stolen, data from the Home Office reveals.

That is an increase of nine per cent on one year earlier, when 640 thefts were recorded.

That means, in Wiltshire, 10 vehicles were stolen for every 10,000 residents in the area.

There were 46 cases of aggravated robbery - for driving the stolen vehicle dangerously on the road or causing an accident.

Police also recorded 2,480 incidents related to thefts from vehicles, either of personal belongings, radios or other items – an increase of 13.4 per cent from the previous year.

There were 628 crimes where the vehicle was damaged as part of an attempted theft, where the intent of the offender was not obvious.

Police and motoring campaigners have said this is probably due to a rise in keyless car thefts.

A spokesman from the Association of British Insurers said that criminals are exploiting the vulnerabilities of the entry system by using pairs of radio transmitters to capture the signal from the vehicle’s fob, among other methods.

He added: “The theft risk will be one of many factors taken into account by insurers when assessing the price of your motor insurance policy.”