NUMBER plates were stolen from nine vehicles parked in Ashburton in an evening crime spree.

The plates were discovered the next day dumped in a hedge by some recycling bins.

One plate had been taken from each vehicle.

The incident happened when the cars were all parked in Kingsbridge Lane car park on the evening of Tuesday, November 15.

A police spokesman said: ‘We are not sure if the offender was spooked or did it as a prank so we would like to ask them.’

Anyone who saw anything suspicious that evening or saw someone taking an interest in the cars is asked to contact police by calling 101 or email [email protected] and quote crime reference CR/081135/16.