HOMEOWNERS in a peaceful cul-de-sac are forming a united front against criminals following a spate of thefts from vehicles and fuel tanks.

Residents of quiet Habgood Road in Loughton have suffered a string of crimes in recent weeks - including the mysterious disappearance of litres of petrol from vehicles' tanks.

David Noverre, 49, who lives in the road with his wife and two teenaged daughters, has been monitoring incidents in the street since an mp3 player was taken from his van in early summer.

He said: "Last Tuesday my wife got in from work quite late and she went out in the morning and saw a pile of clothes and bits and pieces in the drive.

"She got into the car and the glove box was open. It's very disconcerting because it's on your drive, right by your house.

"Then on Saturday we were talking to a neighbour two doors away and he found his hub cap open and approximately half of a tank of fuel gone.

"I went back and mine was half a tank down. Then I looked at my receipt from the last time I'd filled up and it was £90.

"I'm an engineer and I can't work out how they've done it."

Mr Noverre's cousin Kevin Marsden who lives across the road, also fell foul of the thieves on Tuesday.

"Our car was done, a Nintendo DS was taken. The police came and took finger prints," said the 36-year-old.

Mr Noverre said he felt the road, which has no through access, was being actively targeted by opportunistic thieves because of a lack of police patrols.

He said: "We are very conscious now. We almost feel like the area's being watched.

"The people with smaller kids down the road actually don't want their kids walking to school because they feel quite threatened."

New Loughton Conservatives chairman Rod Barrett, who also lives in Habgood Road, said he believed thieves were staking out the cul-de-sac looking for valuables to take.

He is responding to requests from elderly neighbours by setting up a Neighbourhood Watch branch in a bid to stop the crime spree.

"One of the ladies up the road contacted us and we have been in touch with Essex Police," said Mr Barrett, 72.

"If this is what's going to happen we've got to all work together to stop it."

For more information about the new Neighbourhood Watch scheme and to get involved contact Mr Barrett on 020 8502 2085.

Click here to follow the Epping Forest Guardian on Facebook

Click here to follow the Epping Forest Guardian on Twitter