REDBRIDGE has the second highest number of vehicle thefts in London, according to the latest figures.

There were 153 reports of vehicles being stolen in the borough during March and thieves stole the contents of 257 cars and vans.

Somra Ullah, 40, of Wanstead Park Avenue, Wanstead, who has been the victim of several car crimes over the past two years, said she was not surprised by the figures.

“I think because there are a lot of nice cars around, we’re targeted,” she said. “We do get spates of car thefts. When you speak amongst friends and neighbours, they’ve said that happened or this happened.”

Her husband’s car was stolen from the driveway it was parked on in 2009 and she came downstairs to discover a man in her car the same night.

They had seen the couple’s car keys though their letterbox and forced their front door open to steal them.

“Someone was sitting in the car on my driveway and I shouted ‘get off my drive’ and someone else pulled up and drove them both off,” she said. “My husband’s car was driven for about five minutes and crashed.”

Thieves have since taken the wing mirrors from Mrs Ullah’s BMW about a month ago and she said several of her neighbours had had their tyres slashed recently.

Plumber Jamie Wald, 43, had his Mercedes Sprinter van stolen last June after a gang put a gun to his head while he was waiting at traffic lights near Snaresbrook.

They forced him to drive around the corner and take his trousers off before throwing him out of the van and driving off. The van has still not been found.

He said more should be done to make people aware of car thefts on the spots where they happen.

“If someone has a crash in a car, the police put a sign up to say did anyone see anything,” he added. “A few people got robbed there at gunpoint and nothing was put up.

“There's certainly not enough awareness of what's going on around that area.”

The rate of vehicles stolen in the borough rose by 37 between February and March, while the number broken into went up by 63.

Only Newham had more vehicle thefts during March, with a total of 425 stolen or broken into.