Caravan & Motorhome Theft in the UK: What Every Owner Should Know
Leisure-vehicle theft doesn't make many headlines, but for owners it's devastating — and the trend has been going the wrong way. Here's the honest picture, and what it means for how you protect and record your van.
The trend
Reported caravan and motorhome thefts have climbed in recent years — up roughly a quarter since 2020 by one industry count — while overall recovery sits at around one in five. Stolen vans are typically resold illegally, broken for parts, or taken abroad within days.
Recovery is improving — because of matching
Recovery rates have risen from under 10% a few years ago as police, the leisure-vehicle unit NaVCIS and the CRiS database have got better at matching recovered vans to owners. That's the whole game: a van can only be returned if it can be identified. Good records make your van identifiable.
What thieves target
Opportunist theft from driveways and roadside storage is common, as is theft of high-value parts — motor movers, solar kit, bikes and awnings. That's why the Lost & Stolen board covers kit as well as whole vans: the parts go missing far more often than the caravan itself.
The takeaway. You can't stop every thief, but you can make your van recoverable and your kit identifiable — with CRiS, your own records, physical locks, secure storage, and a fast report if the worst happens.
Make your van recoverable
Record it, mark it, and report fast if it ever goes.
Register Your Caravan →