A thief burgled a house in Hove and stole a BMW car along with cash and electrical goods.
Sussex Police said that the car, which was taken from Bigwood Avenue in Hove, was found abandoned in Hurstpierpoint last Friday morning (17 August) having been crashed.
Officers have linked the break in and car theft to a similar incident in Brighton Road in Hurstpierpoint near to where the BMW was abandoned.
At the Hurstpierpoint break in, similar items were stolen along with a grey Skoda Fabia, index number GV59 RXJ, which has not yet been found.
It was taken on either the night of Thursday 16 August or by 6.30am on Friday 17 August when it was reported stolen.
Any witness or anyone with information is asked to call Sussex Police on 101 or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
Key theft for vehicles is more and more common now that vehicles are fitted with better standard immobilisers and security systems. You should keep your keys in a safe place in the house and out of sight of the letter box. You could consider a tracking system if your vehicle is high risk and it may even be a requirement of your insurance company.
Other products do exist to foil the theives even if they do have your car keys such as the key guard which is a device where you have to enter a pin number in order for the vehicles engine to run, details of this product can be found here Autowatch Key Guard Sussex