FORD, Vauxhall and BMW have won British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association Vehicle Security Awards but other manufacturers have been rapped for not taking car crime measures seriously. The new Ford Mondeo won the upper medium car award, the Vauxhall Corsa won the supermini and lower medium sector award and BMW won the luxury and executive sector award.

Ford also triumphed in the LCV category - following victories in 1998 and 1999 - with its all-new Transit. However, no award was made in the HGV category. BVRLA president and chairman of the judging panel Freddie Aldous said: 'We have a group of worthy winners who are to be congratulated for leading the way. But there is no room for complacency if the Government is to meet its target of reducing vehicle crime. There is too great a gap between the best manufacturers and those that don't appear to take security seriously. Those manufacturers should take note and look at what can be achieved.'

While Vauxhall, a nine-time award winner in the 13-year history of the competition, won acclaim for security on the Corsa and the Astra, Aldous said: 'While Vauxhall's record is outstanding, the overall standard of security in the supermini/lower medium category is poor.' Referring to no award in the HGV sector due to a poor response from manufacturers, Aldous said: 'It is an absolute disgrace that security in this category continues to be ignored by most manufacturers given the enormous annual cost of truck theft.'