Over 8,500 vehicles across Ireland parked at residential locations have been broken into between 2015 - 2017.

An Garda Síochána is appealing to motorists to park smart as new figures show that one-third of all vehicles broken into in residential areas had been left unlocked by the owner.

Figures from the Garda Analysis Service released on Tuesday morning show that 8,571 vehicles parked at residential locations were broken into between 2015 and 2017. Of those, 2,824 were reported to be unlocked.

The analysis also shows that the most common location for these thefts was in driveways, and that half of the thefts occurred between midnight and 7am.

On average, over €340,000 worth of property was stolen from vehicles each year. Property stolen included cash, laptops, tools, sunglasses, jewellery and sports equipment.

Gardaí are appealing for all vehicle owners to ensure they lock their vehicle no matter where it is parked. Do not store valuables in the car, but if you do have to, keep them out of sight.

Sergeant Kelvin Courtney from the Garda Crime Prevention National Centre of Excellence spoke about how this can be easily avoided with the proper procedures.

"Wherever you park your car or van, we would always advise you to take your property with you and ensure the vehicle is locked, alarmed and parked in a secure, well-lit location," he said.

"Many of these thefts, particularly at residential locations, are avoidable with an average of 33% of vehicles being left unlocked in the last three years. Unfortunately, this poor practice has risen as 38% of vehicles were unlocked when they had property stolen from them in January 2018.

"We’ve even seen cases where two vehicles from the same household were unlocked and broken into. Sometimes it is impractical to remove tools and equipment from vehicles. In these cases, owners should take extra steps to ensure the safety of their property.

"Additional locking mechanisms to vehicles should be fitted. Consider a monitored vehicle alarm and tracking devices for valuable property. Reduce the payoff to the thief by marking and photographing the property and take a record of serial numbers, makes and models.  Download the household property register for free from the Garda Website for your records.”

The regional breakdown of thefts from unlocked vehicles between 2015 and 2017 sees Dublin, unsurprisingly, being the hardest hit: Dublin: 1245 Eastern: 532 Southern: 411 Western: 261 Northern: 234 According to the Garda Stolen Motor Vehicle Investigation Unit, the vast majority of cars illegally entered or stolen from are done so using the vehicle’s key. The vast majority of vehicles stolen continue to be taken with keys obtained in burglaries. Below are some examples of cash stolen from vehicles in recent times: January 2018- Clondalkin Area- €1000 taken from unattended car February 2018-Galway area-€5000 taken from unattended car March 2018 – Limerick area-€300 taken from unattended car Gardaí advise road users to avoid using cash if possible, and if you must, conceal all cash when entering and exiting the bank. An Garda Síochána’s advice surrounding any vehicle keys would always be to avoid leaving them on the hall table or near a door/window where they could be easily taken.