Advice for homeowners following burglary spate

Homeowners are still making life too easy for burglars, police have warned.

In the last two weeks 12 burglaries and two attempted ones have been reported - eight in Windsor and six in surrounding areas like Old Windsor, Wraysbury and Datchet.

They have included both daytime and evening break-ins where rear doors and windows have either been forced open or left insecure.

Out of the eight in Windsor, five involved properties left insecure.

Anne Chalmers, crime prevention and reduction advisor for the Royal Borough, said: “A building that presents itself as unoccupied or unsecure is far more likely to be targeted than one which is properly secured.”

She recommends that people double lock side gates, windows and doors, while making sure that ladders and garden tools are locked in sheds.

Trimming high hedges and fitting a burglar alarm and security lighting are also recommended.

There is some good news though. Only 257 burglaries were recorded during the last full year of recording, as compared to 294 the year before.