POLICE are warning residents to keep windows and doors secure during the summer to try to prevent burglaries.

Burglars have been targeting houses in Chiltern Vale where doors and windows are left open.

Gillian Stimpson, burglary rreduction project manager, said it is too easy for people to get complacent during the summer.

She said: "How often do we just pop out for a few minutes and leave our back door or windows open?

"We rarely close and lock the back door when we're in the garden cutting the grass. With the lawnmower engine going, it is almost impossible to be aware what is happening elsewhere in the garden, yet it only takes a few minutes for someone to take advantage of an unlocked door and steal property.

"Our most recent research shows that most burglaries are occurring at properties where there is easy access to the rear and more often than not involve the burglar using a piece of garden equipment such as a spade, to force entry to property.

"Most burglars are opportunist and do not plan what property they are going to break into. We can all play our part in making our homes less inviting to thieves.

"The most important thing is to ensure that you lock doors and keep windows secure when you are not in your property - whether you are on holiday or even if you are just down the road or in the garden.

"Your front and back doors should have a good quality lock, such as a five-lever mortice lock (BS 3621) and all windows which can be accessed from outside should be fitted with a window lock."