A MAN has been given an eight-week curfew after he was caught breaking into a rigged police car.

Raymond McCavery, 30, of Southfield Park Flats, in Oxford, was charged with theft from a motor vehicle on Monday after he was caught on film breaking into the trap car parked in Cowley the day before.

He admitted the offence at Oxford Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday and was ordered to stay off the streets between 7pm and 7am for eight weeks.

Det Sgt Richard Pickering from the Oxford auto-crime team said: “This is actually the second time in the past year that McCavery has been caught breaking into a police trap car. This demonstrates how effective this type of police operation is, allowing us to target the city’s vehicle crime offenders.

“However, it is just one of a number of techniques we use, and I hope this result would make someone who is even contemplating breaking into a car think twice before they do.

“Vehicle crime can cause both distress and expense and we would advise that nothing is left on display inside the vehicle, such as satellite navigation systems, money, mobile phones or laptops, and also items like personal mail and cheque books.”

Police would not reveal the location or make of the trap car.