Thieves targeting Toyota Auris catalysts

Toyota missing it's exhaust
Toyota missing it's exhaust

There has been some incidents in the Pocklington/Market Weighton area of thieves targeting Toyotas (mainly the Auris model) to steal the catalyst converter.

The catalyst is part of the exhaust system and contains a precious metal. Thieves target Toyotas in particular due to the good quality of the metals contained inside the catalyst.

It appears that 2 people are working together in broad daylight, they see a Toyota Auris and pull onto the driveway. They then jack the car up in record time and cut off the piece of exhaust pipe that they require. They then drop the car down quite harshly and drive off. The whole theft takes less than 5 minutes.

Underside of a Toyota
Underside of a Toyota

You can get a catalyst lock fitted to the car - it is a great piece of engineering and will stop the thieves in their tracks. 

If you see what looks like a mechanic dressed in a high-visability jacket, on a driveway and there is a Toyota parked - perhaps give them a second glance