TWO television programmes next month will show fleet executives and company car drivers how easy it is for thieves to steal business-owned vehicles.

The two features - to be broadcast on Channel 4's Driven programme on October 2 and 25 - have prompted driver training and risk management company DriveTech to warn company car drivers to be on the lookout.

The first feature will reveal how a car can be stolen when a driver is hoodwinked into playing the 'Good Samaritan' by helping a cyclist who appears to have been knocked off his bike. While the driver goes to the aid of the 'injured' cyclist, an accomplice steals the car.

In the second programme DriveTech regional business manager Garry Hyde plays the part of a car thief on a garage forecourt who is able to potentially steal cars when motorists leave their keys in the ignition as they fill up and then go to pay for fuel. During filming Hyde was able to 'steal' nine cars worth in the region of £200,000.

This week Graham Griffiths, newly-promoted chief operating officer of Crowthorne-based DriveTech UK, said: 'The programmes will show how simple it is for someone with little bit of cunning to steal a car. And because drivers have left the keys in the ignition, insurance companies will often not pay up because they will argue that drivers have been negligent. Often thieves will target company cars because invariably they are the newest vehicles on the roads and will often contain valuable equipment such as laptops and mobile telephones.

'Company car drivers and all motorists, should be wary that such events are happening and guard against them.'