TWO druids who were visiting the Avebury area for a full moon ritual have become the latest victims of thieves who target cars parked at the area's beauty spots.

Marion Bridger, from Farnham, Surrey, and her friend parked at the West Kennet layby at 5.45pm on Saturday to visit the nearby Kennet Long Barrow.

They returned 45 minutes later to find a window smashed, the back seat pulled forward and both their handbags stolen from the boot.

"Then the thieves slashed the front tyre leaving us immobile," said Mrs Bridger. "Fortunately my friend had her mobile phone with her and we called the Marlborough police.

"They were very kind and changed her tyre. They said it had been the fourth identical car crime recently."

Mrs Bridger, who is disabled following radiotherapy treatment, said the keys for her car were in the stolen handbag. She feared the theft of the keys would leave her and her 56-year-old husband, who is disabled following a stroke, and their 19-year-old son, who is recovering from a serious car crash, marooned at their Surrey home. She added: "My friend is going through a divorce and has two small children and had only had her car a few weeks."

A Marlborough police spokesman repeated the warning that tourists should leave nothing of value in a car. "The thieves know where to look and in many cases can gain access to locked boots from inside the car," he said.