Residents in the Churchtown area have been reporting on social media a thief checking cars at around 3:30am this morning. POLICE UPDATE AT END OF THIS STORY

Pictures (with permission) showed a vehicle being checked at 3:42am in Churchgate.



Also reported was a very similar person checking whether a car was locked at 3:37am, again on Churchgate.

In this second incident an update reported that:

2 PCSOs have just called and are checking houses in the area who have cameras to see if they can get a better pic of his face. Very impressed with them.

In mid August Sefton Police did a leaflet drop in the Churchtown area warning of burglaries from properties especially sheds and garages.

The message is obviously make sure vehicles are securely locked at night.

POLICE UPDATE

MOTORISTS - HAVE YOU LOCKED YOUR CAR?
We have received more reports, and CCTV of a man trying car door handles on Churchgate, Southport in the early hours of this morning, Monday 13th September. Similar reports were made from Churchtown area last week and have been circulated around other social media pages.
PCSO's on the beat in Churchtown have this morning visited some of the people who made reports and made enquiries at other addresses with doorbell cameras and/or CCTV. We are aware that other residents have now posted similar footage from the same area.

Attempts to identify the offender are being made however, it is clear that people like this are just looking for the one car that has been left unlocked and with something of value left inside. Always remove EVERYTHING of value from your vehicle before parking up and especially when parking up for the night. Don't even leave loose change in the centre console.
We encourage local residents to always report incidents like this. Each report helps us build up a pattern and may give us the missing piece of evidence that we need to make an arrest.