Isle residents warned to beware of cheap gifts or food sold door to door this Christmas

It is clear that thieves often steal as there is a distinct supply and demand chain through which goods are easily disposed.

If you buy stolen goods whether it’s a joint of meat in a pub, a tin of sweets from the back of a van or a laptop at your door, which generally speaking looks out of place to be sold away from a shop and at a discounted price – do not buy it.

If something seems too good to be true, it generally is and you could be arrested for handling stolen goods.

Handling stolen goods is taken as seriously as stealing the item in the first place.

A Humberside Police spokesman said: “Even if you are struggling financially, please do not be tempted to buy stolen goods – you are criminalising yourself, encouraging criminals to shoplift or steal from someone else’s home and contributing to the shop price rises.

“You can help us tackle the stolen goods market by registering you valuables onto www.immobilise.com. This is a free web based property recording system, endorsed and searchable by all UK

United Kingdom.

“This is a fantastic tool, used by police across the UK. It allows members of the public to register property details of cycles, mobile phones and other electricals on-line for FREE, which then assists police in returning items to their rightful owners and helps bring offenders to justice.”

If someone offers you items you suspect have been stolen, please call Humberside Police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

For further advice on keeping yourself and property safe in the run up to Christmas visit the virtual advent calendar which was launched at the beginning of the month http://ow.ly/F20NG. Behind each window of the calendar you will find useful messages, images and videos that are aimed at helping to keep you safe and sound throughout the holiday season.