CARAVAN owners are being warned to be on their guard by police after a spate of mobile home thefts across the area. Police have told residents to be on the lookout as professional criminals are known to be targeting caravans left outside homes in villages

CARAVAN owners are being warned to be on their guard by police after a spate of mobile home thefts across the area.Police have told residents to be on the lookout as professional criminals are known to be targeting caravans left outside homes in villages across North Somerset.Winscombe and Sandford beat officer PC Steve Church is urging caravan owners to upgrade security on their vehicles to foil the thieves.Owners are being advised to invest in a high quality chain and padlock and fix their vehicles to a secure anchor point. Alarms and tracker devices are also a good idea, say the police.Residents should also remove valuable possessions from caravans after a number of break-ins to mobile homes.PC Church said: "Many security products on the market are only of cosmetic use and do not stop the type of professional thieves currently making a good living stealing caravans. In most cases, they remove locks using heavy duty bolt cutters."We recommend a high tensile chain, costing about £100, which can only be cut by a angle grinder.