Northamptonshire Police are now using Bluetooth technology to send crime prevention text messages to the mobile phones of people living in hotspot areas.

And there are hopes that the messages will also reach offenders, as some of the texts mention trap or sting cars where dummy items are deliberately left on show so that offenders are caught in the act when they try to break in.

It is part of Operation Tiger, a county-wide initiative designed to cut thefts from, and of, vehicles.

The operation is only in its first few weeks but already there have been dozens of arrests.

Between October 31 and November 7, 26 people were arrested, including 14 in north Northamptonshire.

Chief superintendent Paul Fell, area commander for north Northamptonshire, said sending messages with Bluetooth was just one way of getting the message across.

He said: "People can be sent a whole range of messages but it's not about Northamptonshire Police bombarding people with text messages. It's not to cause anxiety – it's just to warn people not to leave valuables on show or in their car at all, particularly in the run-up to Christmas.

"The messages are also to those people who might be thinking about breaking in to cars."

In the seven months between April and October this year, the number of reported thefts from vehicles rose by 25 per cent to 1,530 incidents, compared to the same period last year.

And there was a 20 per cent rise in the number of thefts of a vehicles to 1,053 reports.

Ch Supt Fell said that over the next two years, officers would be looking at the vehicle crime hotspots and examining what can be done to make these areas less attractive to offenders.

For instance, if the issue is not enough off-road parking, officers will look to work with local authorities to see if provisions could be made.