HOME Office minister Paul Boateng has praised the role the British Vehicle Rental & Leasing Association's Security Awards have played in combating car crime. His comments came as the BVRLA presented its 1999 Awards in London.

Vauxhall and BMW both won two awards for car security, while Ford picked up the award for light commercial vehicle security. The Vauxhall Corsa and Astra won the supermini and lower medium categories respectively, while BMW won the upper medium and luxury/executive category.

'Motor manufacturers have made real progress in recent years in making cars more difficult to steal. No doubt the introduction of this award programme has played a part in this,' said Boateng. 'Last year, the Prime Minister announced a national target for reducing vehicle crime by 30% over the next five years. The BVRLA is among the many experts joining forces with the Government to achieve this target.'