Police reveal key clue in Orkney car thefts

Drivers on the remote Orkney Islands have been told it is time to stop leaving their keys in parked cars.

The laid-back islanders were advised to change their lifelong habit of failing to lock their vehicles after it emerged that 59 of the past 60 cars stolen in Orkney had the keys inside.

The islands are not quite in the grip of a crime epidemic - the cars were stolen over a seven-year period - but residents have been warned that they face increased insurance premiums unless they mend their ways.

Det Sgt Bob Mackenzie, of Northern Constabulary, said: "It is an island thing. People just park their cars and leave the keys in them. It is a way of life up here. People are very trusting and it has always been that way."