Home   Bury St Edmunds   News   Article

Subscribe Now

Updated: Heatwave security warning after four burglaries in 24 hours




A Range Rover Evoque was stolen in a burglary in Mildenhall
A Range Rover Evoque was stolen in a burglary in Mildenhall

Police are reminding householders to remember home security in hot weather after four burglaries in Mildenhall and Red Lodge in 24 hours.

The first was on Sunday night between 11pm and 6am when access was gained to a property on Miles Hawk Way, Mildenhall, through an open kitchen window and a purse was stolen.

It is described as a light grey faux leather with a small silver hook on the side.

Then between 8.30am and 9.25am that morning a black Range Rover Evoque was taken from an address in Hammer Avenue, Mildenhall, after downstairs window was forced using a tool.

Suspects stole a set of car keys left on the microwave.

During Monday, two homes in Heatherset Way, Red Lodge, were entered – one through an open window. Cash was stolen from one and a iPhone from the other.

Call Bury St Edmunds CID on 101, quoting 37/39755/18, 37/39781/18, 37/39941/18 or 37/39944/18 respectively.

Anyone who witnessed either incident or saw any suspicious activity should call Bury St Edmunds CID on 101, quoting 37/39781/18 for Hanmer Avenue, 37/39755/18 for Miles Hawk Way and 37/39941/18 or 37/39944/18 for the Red Lodge burglaries.

Alternatively, contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via their website.

Suffolk Police advise "lock, light, hide":

Lock

• Lock all doors and remove the keys before leaving the house.

• Keep front doors locked even when you are at home and especially if you are in the back garden.

• Close all windows fully before you leave the house, lock downstairs windows and remove the keys.

• Use window limiters to allow air in instead of keeping windows fully open, even when you’re at home.

• Install window locks on upstairs windows that can be easily accessed from a flat roof.

• Lock back gates using a sturdy lock such as a closed shackle padlock to no less than CEN 3-4 security grade or five-lever lock.

Light

• Make your home look lived in – use timer switches if you’re not home.

• ‘Dusk-to-dawn’ sensored security lighting is a cheap, low cost way of making sure the front of your home or shed/outbuilding is well-lit.

• Visible burglar alarms can make burglars think twice; get specialist advice and consult your insurance company.

•You could also consider installing a Ring doorbell camera to film an opportunist burglar in action.

• Hedging and shrubs to the front of your property should be pruned to no higher than 1m and trim trees up from the ground to 2m. This will allow a clear line of sight across your property and will stop the garden being used as a hiding place.

Hide

• Keep valuables, jewellery, cash, passport and deeds to your property in a safe.

• Never leave spare keys in an open place. Be aware, burglars know all the usual hiding places so never leave a spare key under the doormat or garden gnome.

• Keep dustbins and wheelie-bins away from fencing/gates where they can be used by thieves to climb into windows or used to escape.

• Make sure valuables are property marked. Take photographs and keep a note of any serial numbers.

• Don’t leave equipment and tools lying around that can be used to break into your home. Keep ladders locked away and out of sight.