Six cars stolen after owners leave engines running to clear ice from windscreens

In a post on the Kildare Garda Division Facebook page today officers wrote that there had been two reports of cars being stolen from the driveways of peoples homes in the area over the last 24 hours.

"Car owners have come out and started the engine to allow the car to warm up and to clear the windscreen of frost and ice and left the car unattended. Within seconds, the cars were taken.

The post continues: "Please be aware of these type of incidents. The car thieves are great fans of the frosty mornings."

A garda spokesman has confirmed to Independent.ie that they are also investigating four incidents of unauthorised taking of a vehicle that occurred in the Lucan area of Dublin on last Friday, November 18 between 6.40am and 7.35am.

One of the cars was recovered, abandoned a short time and distance later.

No arrests have been made. Investigations are ongoing.

The warning comes as temperatures are expected to plummet to -6 degrees in parts of the country this week as a high pressure Arctic weather system settles over Ireland.

Ice and fog will be widespread over the next few days with freezing fog developing in midland areas.

Southern counties might see double figures, with highs of 10 degrees, but most counties will struggle to reach 8 degrees during the day.