Several key safes were broken into and a car was stolen in Stoke-on-Trent overnight.

Staffordshire Police has now issued a warning urging residents to be "vigilant".

Officers were first called to Selwyn Street, Stoke, at 1am today (Friday 6 February) after two men were seen tampering with a key safe.

The men were disturbed and ran off in the direction of Campbell Road.

At 7.10am, officers were called to Lowell Drive in Weston Coyney, where a key safe had been accessed, with suspects then entering a property. 

A grey Toyota Aygo was stolen with keys.

Staffordshire Police received a further call around ten minutes later, to Alma Street in Fenton.

It was reported a key safe had been taken from a property in the early hours of the morning.

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The person inside reported seeing a man with wavy hair, carrying a torch, enter the property at around 4.30am before being spooked and running off.

The latest incident was reported at 8.30am when officers were called to Baddeley Hall Road in Baddeley Green.

Doorbell footage showed four men tampering with a key safe at around 2.30am before taking the entire key safe off the wall and making off.

Sergeant Will Evans, of Stoke-on-Trent south local policing team, said: "We know that people often use key safes and they are required for a number of reasons.

"Thieves are clearly looking to exploit this and take advantage of the key safes' position close to access points.

"That's why we are advising people to either remove keys from the safes, or reposition the safes to a different area that only you or a limited number of people will know about, so that burglars don't spot them.

"We are also keen to speak to people who witnessed anything suspicious in the identified areas overnight, especially those who may have relevant CCTV, dashcam or doorbell footage."

The suspects are described as each wearing balaclavas, gloves and carrying a screwdriver.

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One of the men was wearing a distinctive tracksuit with the words 'Trailberg' on the back of a hooded sweatshirt and a beanie-style hat.

The other men were each wearing puffer jackets and one suspect, with lighter-coloured hair, was wearing Nike Air Max trainers. 

A spokesperson for Staffordshire Police said: "We are urging people who have a key safe to remove the keys, if possible, or relocate the safes to another area which is not near the front or back doors."

Staffordshire Police urged anyone with information to contact them on 101 quoting incident number 136 of 6 February or to anonymously call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

More information on how to protect your home from burglary, can be found on the Staffordshire Police website here.