South Cumbria has one of lowest burglary rates in the UK

The area's temporary Detective Inspector Jason McKenna said figures showed they are are using their resources in the right way.

Figures from Churchill insurance rank Barrow as number three in the UK for lowest number of break-ins and the best for catching the culprits.

Latest figures from south Cumbria and Barrow show we may be ranked even higher, according to the detective.

At least 80 per cent of break-ins in the area are still down to residents failing to lock windows and doors.

Latest figures for the 12 months to the end of March 2015 show there were 710 burglaries at homes across Cumbria. That equates to 3.2 per of the 499,817 households.

In Barrow there were 143 incidents which is 2.1 per 1,000 population and 4.6 per of the 69,056 households.

Across south Lakeland there were 91 break-ins which 0.9 per 1,000 population and 2.0 of the 103,713 homes.

Across the county 17 per cent of the criminals were caught and 20 per cent in south Cumbria.

The DI said: "Research shows that a high percentage of such offences still take place at insecure properties. We continue to work with our partners such as the Community Safety Partnership, Victim Support and Trading Standards to highlight preventative measures and messages such as our media campaign 'lock it or lose it'. 

"This is to remind the public to secure their premises and avoid being a victim of this type of crime. 

"South Cumbria continues to be a safe place to live and has one of the lowest number of burglary dwelling offences in the country coupled with one of the highest detection rates. This shows that we are deploying the right resources in the right place to protect our communities."

Cumbria police advice on how to protect your home and garden from thieves  click here

Read about a shocking burglary in Barrow recently  here