Van fleet managers have been warned that light commercial vehicles are increasingly being targeted by thieves.

The most common vehicle stolen last year was the Ford Transit, according to the police vehicle crime intelligence service (AVCIS).

Vans are targeted for a number of reasons, not least because many vans often have multiple drivers, there is a lack of ‘ownership’, which means keys are commonly left in vehicles or are left in easily accessible places on sites and at depots.

While Ford’s best selling LCV has the dubious honour of being the most common vehicle stolen last year, the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is also increasingly attracting thieves’ attention.

Indeed, according to DCI Mark Hooper, the head of AVCIS, the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is now one of the most common vehicles to be cloned.

And it is not new vans that are being stolen, the average age of the 150,000 vehicle stolen last year was 11-years-old.

Worryingly, while vehicle crime is falling the number of recoveries is low – only half of stolen vehicles are ever found by the police.

It is believed that many of the vans are broken for parts or are shipped out of the country. Others are cloned and sold on in the UK.

Cloning of vans has been made easier following the loss of 2.2m V5 documents from a DVLA printer.

The blank documents, which have the serial numbers beginning BG and BI, were meant to have been destroyed by the printer but some and possibly all 2.2 million – nobody knows - have found their way into fraudsters hands.

Many of those shipped abroad are sent to other right-hand drive countries such as Cyprus.

Because of legislative changes there next year, which mean all foods must be carried in a refrigerated vehicles, AVCIS is preparing for an increase in thefts of such vans from businesses here.

Another worrying trend that all fleet managers must be aware of is also emerging according to the Finance and Leasing Association (FLA).

Bogus rental and lease companies are being established that provide criminals with access to ‘legitimate’ insured and taxed vehicles.

The vehicles are obtained on finance – often fraudulently - and then sub-let on with insurance and tax already in place.

However, to give the ‘rental’ or ‘lease’ company legitimacy, some of the vehicles may be rented out to genuine innocent companies.

Fleet managers should be aware of the problem because these bogus companies may default on their payments to the finance company.

This means a genuine fleet may have its vehicle seized by the finance company.

“This type of sub-leasing is a growing trend,” said Paul Harrison, the FLA’s head of motor finance.

“It is becoming a major problem for our members.”

One criminal gang had created a bogus lease company in the northwest of England that had obtained 250 vehicles on finance.

The advice is to use a BVRLA member for all lease or rental vehicles,