Ananova:

Drivers on the Orkney Islands have been told it is time to stop leaving their keys in parked cars.

The islanders have been advised to stop leaving their vehicles unlocked as 60 cars have been stolen over the last seven years.

And police revealed that all but one had been left unlocked - and with the keys in the ignition, reports the Daily Telegraph.

Det Sgt Bob Mackenzie, of Northern Constabulary, said: "It is an island thing. People just park their cars and leave the keys in them.

"It is a way of life up here. People are very trusting and it has always been that way. The cars are mainly taken at weekends, after a night out, by somebody trying to get home. We have only ever had one 'hot-wiring' car theft."

All but one of the stolen cars was later found on the island. The other was traced to Aberdeen, where it had been taken by ferry.

Det Sgt Mackenzie said people did not expect their cars to be taken because the crime rate was so low compared to other parts of Britain.

But he added that if islanders did lock their vehicles, only two or three cars would have been stolen over the same period.

"It does push premiums up for everyone. We are no longer the cheapest place in the UK for insurance, which we had been for a long time," he said.