Police have cracked down on thefts from vehicles in Sidmouth car parks, putting an end to an ongoing spate.

PC Steve Lee gave the monthly crime report at a meeting of Sidmouth Town Council on Monday and said, thanks to the help of three individuals, there was not one such incident in the parish throughout June.

He added: “We did have quite a big issue with it across the whole of the area, not just in rural East Devon, but as far as Wiltshire going right down to Cornwall.”

PC Lee said, overall in June, the number of recorded crimes had gone down by 4.5 per cent.

Thirty-five crimes were recorded last month, compared to 40 in the period in 2016.

This included two incidents of violence with injury, nine of violence without injury, three burglaries - one at a home and two non-dwelling, 10 other thefts, four incidents of criminal damage, public order offences and three ‘other’ crimes.

In total, police attended 158 incidents in June 2016, compared to 135 this year – a 15 per cent drop. PC Lee said: “There were absolutely no break-ins into vehicles last month, which is really good with the tourist season coming up.”

He added that officers had also undertaken a successful traffic operation, where two drivers using red diesel were stopped, along with 14 people who were prohibited from using the road, and one motorist with no insurance.

“We are continuing to do those things,” said PC Lee. “We are continuing to do speed watch and we are still visiting school to offer advice to kids.”