Brazen burglars are using YOUR keys to ransack your home, police warn

A spate of burglaries in the Hindpool area of Barrow has sparked a police appeal urging homeowners to ‘lock their doors’ and ‘keep valuables out of sight’.

The warning comes after a number of houses in Hindpool were targeted on the evening of Bonfire Night continuing into the early hours of the morning.

Officers are investigating three residential burglaries which occurred overnight on Tuesday November 5 and Wednesday November 6 in and around the Hindpool area.

A property on Cook Street was entered sometime after 9pm where a designer gent’s leather jacket and similar branded children’s jackets with a collective value of more than £700 were removed from a clothing rail in the hallway.

A second address on Napier Street was also targeted on the same night, also leading to the theft of several jackets from the hallway.

However, the stolen goods were later recovered from a nearby back street.

The third incident took place on West View Road where the property was entered between 10pm and 6am.

Stolen from the residence was a television, Play Station 4 console and a quantity of games.

Detective Sergeant Mike Wallace believes the spate of crimes are linked and is urging homeowners to remain vigilant.

He said: “We believe that these offences are linked and are appealing to home owners to be security conscious in what we believe are opportunists checking doors.

“Investigations are ongoing into these and other recent burglaries and I would urge homeowners to lock doors and keep valuables out of sight, and not leave keys in the back of locks or coat pockets.”

Sgt Wallace said officers will be sent into crime ‘hot-spots’ within the town.

“We are deploying officers into identified hot-spot areas but rely on community awareness,” he said.

“Anyone with relevant information in relation to these three offences or of any recent suspicious behaviour that could assist is urged to make contact on 101 or via Crimestoppers.”