Uplawmoor has been the latest community to be hit by a wave of car thieves targeting central Scotland.

Valuable performance, luxury and big-badge brands are being stolen to order or for use in organised crime, before they are stripped and sold on for parts.

East Renfrewshire’s second in command has reminded residents that letting their guard down can allow the opportunistic thieves to strike, and make off with tens of thousands of pounds worth of motor in a matter of seconds.

Speaking to the News, deputy chief inspector Alan Dickson said homeowners must lock their doors and their cars at all times.

He said: “It has been something that we have been seeing quite a lot of, especially in the Newton Mearns and Eastwood side of the authority, although it has not been as bad here as we have seen in some other parts of the country.

“My advice would be that residents should always make sure that the house doors and their car doors are locked — don’t make the thieve’s job easier.

“It has been the case that the thieves have been breaking into homes or entering them with no intention of stealing any possessions and simply going straight for the car keys and simply driving away.” This comes on the back of a story published earlier this month in the Barrhead News on a man being woken by an intruder in his house in Aurs Glen, the intruder fled after being disturbed however it is believed that he may have gained entrance to the house through an unlocked door.

The scale of vehicle thefts and the value of the cars being targeted has made national headlines, after one man was arrested for the alleged theft of a rare Nissan Skyline supercar that was stolen from Edinburgh, and recovered a few days later in the south of England.

The ultimate fate of the cars can vary, with deputy chief inspector Dickson saying: “Sometimes they can be broken up for parts, or they can be run on false plates and used for a variety of purposes including organised crime.

“It is therefore imperative that we use every mean at our disposal and investigate every line of enquiry to ensure the recovery of the vehicles.” In Uplawmoor last week a BMW X5 and Volkswagen Golf were stolen on January 5 into January 6.

As of going to print the cars had not been recovered and police have asked for anyone who may have witnessed the cars being driven off or any suspicious activity in the town at the time to come forward and contact them using the number 101.