A WOMAN was threatened with a baseball bat by car part thieves last night.

Cheshire Police say a spate of catalytic converter thefts were reported in Runcorn yesterday, Thursday.

The first incident occurred at around 10pm, with a red MG car which was parked on Blantyre Street in the Old Town area having been targeted.

Two men stole the part before fleeing in a silver Vauxhall Vectra in the direction of Brindley Street.

A woman challenged the pair while the theft was in progress, with one of the offenders having brandished the bat at her in response and ‘told her to go away’.

He was described as being white and around 5ft6 in height with a ‘proportionate’ build, and was dressed in all black clothing – including a zipped hooded top and a mask covering the lower part of his face.

Minutes later, another catalytic converter was taken from a black Mazda parked on Swinden Close in Windmill Hill.

Again, the culprits left the scene in a silver Vauxhall Vectra in the direction of Windmill Hill Avenue.

The two men who took the part were wearing dark clothing including black hats.

One of them was around 6ft with a slim build, while the other had a stockier build.

Officers believe the two incidents are linked, and have appealed for information from members of the public.

Detective sergeant Rob McLoughlin said: “I would like to reassure members of the Runcorn community that we are doing everything we can to establish who stole the two catalytic converters and make them face the consequences of their actions.

“As part of our ongoing enquiries, we want to speak to anyone who was in the Blantyre Street and Swinden Close areas of Runcorn that night and witnessed anything that may be relevant to our investigation.

“We also want to hear from anyone who believes they have may have CCTV or dashcam footage of the offenders or know who they are.

“The same goes for anyone who thinks they may have footage or information regarding the silver Vauxhaull Vectra that the offenders were travelling in.”

Anyone with any information or is urged to contact the force on 101, quoting incident number IML980200, or to call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.