AROUND 350 Met and Home Counties police are targeting vehicle thieves on main roads out of London today (Thursday).

It is part of the Met’s initiative to combat keyless vehicle theft, known as Operation Endeavour.

Last year more than 6,000 cars and vans across London were stolen without the owners' keys.

Intelligence suggests that such vehicles are quickly driven out to the Home Counties, where many are stripped down to their component parts at locations known as "slaughter houses" in as little as 30 minutes.

From there, the vehicle parts are exported as far afield as Africa. Parts fetch as much as £1,000 for an engine and £10,000 for a whole vehicle.

As of midday, around 20 arterial roads out of London were monitored.

Vehicles reported as stolen or linked to vehicle crime were stopped and interception vehicles were on standby to pursue suspects who might try to evade police.

Stolen vehicles will be seized.

The campaign follows an eight per cent increase in vehicle theft across London in the last year, believed to be the result of organised criminals increasingly targeting keyless or remotely controlled vehicles.