South Yorkshire Police and Hallam FM have extended the trial of a joint initiative in the fight against car thieves.

The initiative, originally planned to run between 3 January and 3 February, involves officers from South Yorkshire Police’s control room supplying Hallam FM with the details of cars that have been reported recently stolen. The presenters of Hallam FM then report the details asking listeners to report sightings of the vehicles.

The initiative will now run until the end of March.

Inspector Craig Clifton of South Yorkshire Police’s Roads Policing Group said: “During the first month of this initiative we supplied Hallam FM with the details of more than 20 vehicles that had been reported within 15 minutes of being stolen. Hallam FM’s presenters informed their listeners of the details of each vehicle and encouraged them to report sightings direct to the police.

 “A response from one listener set off a chain of events that led to the arrest of a suspected prolific car thief from Doncaster and the recovery of a stolen Range Rover.

“During January, the first month of the trial, 244 vehicles were stolen in South Yorkshire compared to 310 vehicles stolen in January 2011. By working with Hallam FM in this way it means we can potentially increase reported sightings and further improve the chances of recovering recently stolen vehicles as well as sending a clear warning to would be car thieves.”

Listeners must not approach the driver or attempt to intervene in any way and should only report sightings of the vehicle by calling South Yorkshire Police on 999 on 101when it is safe and legal to do so.