Catalytic converter thefts have increased across England, according to new research from from CompareTheMarket. 

It analysed police data which revealed London has the highest instances of catalytic converter thefts over the three-year period, and each individual year, with a total of 15,237 from 2017 to 2020.

Birmingham saw the second-highest amount of thefts, with 320, followed by neighbouring Coventry (287), Cambridge (166) and Luton (101).

The research revealed that Warrington has seen the biggest increase in catalytic converter thefts, with a jump from one theft in 2018/2019 to 28 thefts in 2019/2020 a 2,700% increase, although this is based on a small number.

Wolverhampton also saw a large increase (1,475%) as well as Coventry (652%), Middlesbrough (633%) and Cambridge (610%).

Dan Hutson, head of motor insurance at CompareTheMarket, said: “These statistics are high and the value of the metals within catalytic converters has increased significantly, resulting in a car part which was previously of little interest to thieves suddenly becoming very valuable, which explains the spikes.

“For those who are worried about falling victim to this type of theft, try parking your car in a way which would make it difficult for thieves to slide under the car to access the catalytic converter. There are also anti-theft devices you can buy and fit to your car to prevent unwanted attention.”

Top ten towns and cities with the most catalytic converter thefts

Rank	Town/city	2017/18 thefts	2018/19 thefts	2019/20 thefts	Total
1	London	154	2,600	12,483	15,237
2	Birmingham	26	62	232	320
3	Coventry	23	31	233	287
4	Cambridge	4	20	142	166
5	Luton	5	33	63	101
6	Peterborough	11	8	56	75
7	Derby	7	14	50	71
8	Wolverhampton	2	4	63	69
9	Manchester	5	16	45	66
10	Bristol	5	9	44	58

Top ten towns and cities with the biggest increase in catalytic converter thefts 

Rank	Town/city	2018/19 thefts	2019/20 thefts	Year-on-year increase
1	Warrington	1	28	2,700%
2	Wolverhampton	4	63	1,475%
3	Coventry	31	233	652%
4	Middlesbrough	3	22	633%
5	Cambridge	20	142	610%
6	Peterborough	8	56	600%
7	Liverpool	2	11	450%
8	York	2	11	450%
9	Plymouth	1	5	400%
10	Bristol	9	44	389%

You can view the full research on the CompareTheMarket website.