elephant.co.uk has revealed that although for most of the working population, the weekend is a period of rest, the same cannot be said for car thieves, as new research shows that they're at their most active over the weekend.



The research, carried out by car insurance specialist elephant.co.uk, shows the day of the week most cars are stolen is a Saturday while the day most items are taken from cars is a Sunday.



elephant.co.uk looked at 45,000 theft claims over the last 5 years to see on which day most car crime took place. While Saturday was the most popular day for vehicle theft claims, it was closely followed by Friday, Thursday, Monday, Sunday, Wednesday and then finally Tuesday. Additionally, Sunday was the most popular day for theft from vehicle claims, then followed by Tuesday, Saturday, Monday, Thursday, Wednesday and Friday.



Brian Martin, elephant.co.uk managing director, commented: "The last thing you need after a hard week's work is for your car to be stolen or broken into so this research will make unhappy reading for motorists. With most people out and about at the weekend, there's a likelihood they're leaving their cars unattended either in a car park or at home which could tempt thieves to make their move."



But what exactly are criminals stealing from cars? Over the past 5 years, the most common items have been Sat Navs followed by CDs and stereos. In fact, these three items are all more than twice as likely to be stolen as anything else.


The full list of the items most likely to be stolen from cars also includes iPods/MP3 players, sunglasses, mobile phones, clothes, computers, child car seats and cameras.



Brian continued: "Car thieves are opportunist, and too many motorists present them with an opportunity by leaving valuable items on show, or even leaving their windows open. Motorists need to remember not to make themselves an easy target."