Caravan Insurance

Greater Manchester has been hailed the security van robbery hot spot of Britain by an MP from the region.

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Ian Austin, Dudley North Labour MP, told the House of Commons that in the first three months of 2005 there were 24 attacks on crews working on cash-in-transit vans in the Great Manchester area.

He went on to say that this year the figure has risen to 37, reports the Manchester Evening News.

In February a security guard was attacked with a machete while he was en-route to an Argos in the Northern Quarter to collect cash.

The latest attack took place in March, when two security guards were injured when a gang in Denton carried out a raid on a cash delivery van.

Increases in attacks were also reported in London and the West Midlands, while in Greater Manchester the rise occurred despite the launch of campaigns such as Operation Liaison and Operation Hawkeye.

As part of the initiatives "spy cameras" were set up across the region in order to reduce cash-in-transit crime.

Andy Burnham, Leigh MP and home office minister, said that it was always known that the situation was "extremely serious", pointing out that levels of gun crime are high in Greater Manchester, the West Midlands and London.

"It is perhaps no coincidence that those areas have the highest incidents of cash-in-transit attacks," he said.

Mr Burnham concluded by saying that he would look into further measures to protect security guards working in the industry - such as speeding up the process of cash handling or giving protection crews.