Goulburn resident Bethany Cosgrove commented on the Goulburn Neighbourhood Watch Facebook page to alert district residents and businesses to a recent wheel-nut theft.

“I have been victim to these ‘wheel-nut thieves’ that have been going around,” Ms Cosgrove wrote. “I've been driving about for three days with a little thumping sound coming from my right front wheel. I was thinking it was normal, but today it got more grinding and louder with people in the street staring at my car.

“I started thinking that was not normal. My brother-in-law, he came and had a look to discover they've taken some of my wheel-nuts. I want to let people know to please check your wheels before you go anywhere.” 

Wheel nuts, or lug nuts, are nuts with a rounded or tapered end, used on steel and most aluminum wheels.

A set of wheel-nuts are typically used to secure a wheel to threaded wheel studs, and so on a vehicle's axles.

Ms Cosgrove said her situation could have proved dangerous or deadly. 

“I was driving to Tarago and back with loose and missing wheel-nuts at 90 kilometres an hour,” she said.

'If the wheel came off, I would've been dead, for sure.” 

She advised the thieves, not entirely tongue-in-cheek, to go to car-parts retailer and buy their own wheel-nuts.

“It's not worth it,” she said.

“Go to Repco and buy a pack for $20.

“That's what I had to do, thanks to you.”

Others responded on Facebook, saying they had also experienced the same problem.

It was not just limited to wheel-nut theft, but also to petrol and petrol cap theft, and cars being broken into. 

Jason Kaye wrote: “It’s not just the wheel nuts, it’s petrol and cars being broken into.

“So far I have had wheel-nuts undone on car wheels … others have had petrol tanks [siphoned] and attempts to break into my cars … and its only been in the last month.”

Others commented that wheel-nut loosening or theft was not limited to Goulburn, but also happening in Sydney.

Mandy Beaumont wrote: “If it's any consolation, it's happening in other areas in the salubrious Sydney suburbs with witnesses to the dirty low act of wheel nut loosening or theft.” 

Goulburn police said they had not had received any reports of the wheel-nuts being stolen.

However, police were keen to be advised of any information regarding incidents of it or any any car-related theft, attempted theft or vandalism.