Detectives are concerned there is a serial thief on the loose in Wickford, targeting Transit vans.

They are investigating a possible link between three thefts of the vans from outside nearby homes in the town.

The owner of a white Ford Transit in Russell Gardens, Wickford, returned home on Wednesday afternoon to find the vehicle, registration E827 WGJ, had gone missing.

The day before thieves had made off with a white Transit, registration G963 YAD, from a house in Lennox Drive.

A similar vehicle also disappeared from outside a house in Harris Close, Wickford. The second Transit registration was M621 WJN.

A police spokesman said: "Wickford is usually very quiet. The fact they are all Transits and two were taken on the same night means the thefts could be linked.

A Ford Fiesta XR2, registration E967 BFM, was also taken from Stagden Cross, Pitsea, in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

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