Police roadside check points, deploy vehicles and patrols in crime hotspots will be used to tackle the growing epidemic of theft from cars in the capital.

In the past financial year there was more than 94,000 items stolen from cars in London a seven per cent increase on the previous year.

Satellite navigation systems worth up to £400, laptop computers, disabled blue badges and number plates were among the most commonly stolen items.

There was 4173 SatNavs stolen from cars, 3683 disabled blue badges, 2141 laptop computers, 982 MP3 players and 8998 number plates.

Whilst theft from cars has increased, the theft of cars decreased 9.5 per cent in the past 12 months from 48026 to 43463.

Safer Neighbourhoods Teams will check the security of parked cars to ensure they are secured and not containing any valuables.

Officers will send a note with advice on car security to the owners of vulnerable cars.

Police have also called on car owners to take extra precautions to stop the rise in theft from cars, including hiding the car keys in a hard-to-find place.

Commander Rod Jarman said: "Over the next few weeks and months we will be taking action to reduce vehicle crime in London. We want to work in partnership with car owners in the capital. We are urging London's motorists to take some simple measures to prevent them from being a victim of crime.

"Our part of the deal will be to target the perpetrators. We will be conducting operations to target them over the coming days and weeks. This will demonstrate that tackling vehicle crime remains important to the Met police."