Steering wheel locks are flying off the shelves amid rise in thieves targeting modern, keyless cars

Sales of steering wheel locks are rising as drivers try to stop thieves targeting their modern, keyless cars.

Motoring retailer Halfords has seen sales of the security devices rise 23 per cent compared to last year.

Wireless fobs allow drivers to unlock cars and start them with the press of a button, but crooks can hack them with two devices which copy the signal and trick the vehicle.

This type of ‘signal tampering’ accounts for 36 per cent of vehicle break-ins, Home Office figures show – up 13 per cent from last year.

Dave Howells, of Halfords, said: ‘Old-fashioned steering locks are a great, no-nonsense security solution. 

Sales of steering wheel locks are rising as drivers try to stop thieves targeting keyless cars

Motoring retailer Halfords says sales of steering wheel locks rose 23 per cent in the last year

‘Often, just the presence of a steering lock on a vehicle acts as a deterrent.’