A TEAM of specialist thieves are targeting four-wheel drive vehicles in Ryedale, police warned today.Malton police have issued a warning about the threat after three vehicles were stolen this week - two of them on Thursday night.Sgt Mick Pounder, of Malton Police, is warning owners of all four-wheel drive vehicles to be on their guard. He says they should take security precautions and under no circumstances leave their 4x4s unlocked. "From the number of vehicles going there is obviously a team in the area, selecting this particular type of vehicle," said Sgt Pounder."They could be stolen to order - it could be for parts."Sgt Pounder added the thieves may be picking out the vehicles during the day then returning to steal them after dark.In the latest thefts a white Land Rover with black and yellow stripes and a logo for RBM Agricultural on the doors, registration number J379 BWY, was taken from Welham Road, Norton, between 10.30pm on Thursday and 6.25am yesterday.The vehicle was worth about £9,000 and it contained tools worth £3,500.And during the same evening a dark green Land Rover Discovery worth about £8,000 was stolen from a domestic garage at Low House, Hanging Grimston, near Malton. Its registration number was K923 TJR.And a green Land Rover Defender, registration number M59 EAT, was stolen between 10pm on Tuesday and 7.30am on Wednesday, from Keld Head Orchard, Kirkbymoorside.David Collier, York-based senior technical adviser for the National Farmers' Union, said any increase in the number of thefts of off-road vehicles was a worry.

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