POLICE have called in specialist officers from around the country to help police to tackle rising car crime in the Scottish capital.

Operation RAC has been widened after it was revealed Edinburgh experienced the highest number of house break-ins and car thefts per head in the country between November last year and March.

There has been a 20 per cent increase in break-ins and a 6.4 per cent rise in vehicle crime compared with the year before.

At one stage up to four cars being stolen every night.

With high-speed car chases banned because of the risk to the safety of pedestrians and other drivers, police helicopters were used to carry out pursuits.

Officers on the ground were then directed with dogs to where cars had stopped so that suspects could be apprehended.

There have been more than 70 arrests for car-related crimes but few have led to successful prosecutions because of the ages of the suspects.

Senior officers say, however, that the crime rate has fallen by about 60 per cent as a result of the operation.

Superintendent Alan Porte, who is leading the operation, said that Police Scotland believe there were about 40 teenagers aged between 14 and 17 who were stealing the cars, with a core of 12 to 15 who were regularly committing the crimes.

He said: "This is driven by stealing fancy cars and driving them fast around the city.

"It's a group of kids, probably disenfranchised from deprived areas without reasonable prospects, and they are doing this as a form of entertainment."

He added: "With new cars, you can't hotwire them so the keys have to be found.

"Owners need to start taking their car keys to bed with them, because if they are near the front door they are very easy to steal."

He said officers were unable to give pursuit.

He said: "I want to chase them with every bone in my body, but imagine if there was a pedestrian killed, or one of the kids, and an FAI [fatal accident inquiry] was held.

"It would find my decision to chase underage teenagers without driving licences indefensible."

The police are working with social services, the children's reporter and the Scottish Courts Service to try to prevent reoffending.