FRESH calls are being made to beef up security at a railway station car park – after a second smash-and-grab raid.

Police chased a number of youths who smashed the windows of 12 cars at the Apperley Bridge car park on Saturday morning. The force helicopter was also deployed.

A similar incident happened only two months ago.

A British Transport Police (BTP) spokesperson confirmed police were called to the station at approximately 4.20am after reports of criminal damage to vehicles by what is believed to be a group of youths.

The perpetrators took 10 minutes to attack the 12 cars in the early hours of Saturday, according to a separate spokesperson for BTP at the scene.

BTP also confirmed the youths are believed to have stolen property from inside the vehicles. No arrests were made.

Many of the cars were Volkswagens, which did not surprise the attending officer as those types of cars are often targeted for their integrated entertainment systems, after an urban myth circulated that chips from them can be used in Sky boxes to gain free service. An £80,000 Jaguar was also targeted.

Harrison Kyne, 26, of Idle was one of the victims turning up to find his Mini Cooper with a smashed window.

He said: “I had a bad feeling about leaving my car here last night.”

Mum Helen Donkin, 37, of Apperley Bridge, discovered the windows on her BMW had been smashed when she arrived to pick her car up.

She said: “I’m shocked and I’m surprised I wasn’t called. It’s the practicality that’s annoying – I’m lucky I’ve got my friend with me, but I can’t put my boy in there. There’s glass on his car seat and there’s no one to help get the glass up.”

The BTP spokesperson at the scene said they could not say for sure but believed the youths to be those who had committed this crime before.

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They said: “If it’s them, they’re in our sights for other stuff as well.”

Figures obtained by the T&A in last year showed that recorded vehicle crimes at Apperley Bridge station car park, since it opened in 2015, were almost three times higher than any other station in the district.

Councillor Jeanette Sunderland (Lib Dem, Idle & Thackley), has counted 97 incidents at the station with only one conviction.

She said that Apperley Bridge station car park hit capacity within 15 weeks of opening which led to plans for expanding it. But she said it could not be extended without manning the car park and having real-time oversight of the CCTV.

Cllr Sunderland said: “This is happening across all unmanned stations and a proper review needs to be put in place.

“I’ve spoke to people who said they’d rather pay to park and be secure.”

Anyone with any information should call 0800 40 50 40 or text 61016, quoting 103 of 7 July.