South Craven villages have been hit by a spate of vandalism and thefts.
The crime wave comes just days after the police reported a 29 per cent drop in crime in the Cross Hills division from April to August.
Sergeant Steve Scott, the local area policing officer, said "We have had quite a number of motor crime related incidents and thefts from and of vehicles recently. In the last two weeks there has been a serious upsurge.
"We have targeted areas where it is known that crimes are being committed in the hope to catch the offenders.
"This type of crime seems to be more linked to travelling criminals. Stolen vehicles have been found recovered in West Yorkshire and this would indicate that this is where the criminals came from," he said
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