Motoring groups are blaming the Government for the crime wave, with police cuts making it easy for thieves to steal cars with impunity.

Volkswagen has said that it's aware of an issue with its 1.5-litre TSI Evo engine - and refused to rule out a possible recall.

German carmaker is in the process of contacting more than 250,000 owners to arrange mechanical inspections, due to a faulty EGR (exhaust gas recirculation) cooler that may leak and cause a fire.