BURGLARS are having an easy time in Radcliffe, with a third of all break-ins this year being through unlocked doors or open windows.

Insp Steve Clark, head of Radcliffe Township, told the town's area board on Monday that while the number of burglaries in Radcliffe was reducing they were not dropping at the same rate as in other areas of the borough.

He said: "Since the start of this year, there have been around 60 domestic burglaries. But amazingly, in about a third of all of those burglaries, the burglar has not had to break in - they have either walked in through an unlocked door or have climbed in through an open window.

"One of the problems for people who are the victims of such burglaries is that, if you have not taken action to protect your property, many insurance companies will not pay out.

"We are continuing with our long ball game under the strategy of Operation Fraser, helping victims and their neighbours to secure their homes following a burglary.

"Our colleagues in the CID have made some good arrests for this type of offence, but, over the whole of Radcliffe, there is still far too much burglary going on."

Insp Clark told the meeting that one family had been burgled when the thief had just walked in through the unlocked patio doors and took a laptop computer.

"On Sunday night the same family was the victim of another burglary. This time the burglar got in through an insecure front door and took the replacement laptop together with other items worth £2,000, plus the family car.

Insp Clark said: "The realist within me tells me that we are never going to achieve a zero rate of burglary, and that people are always going to have things stolen.

"But I was very interested to see a new website called www.menduk.org. You can privately record all of the goods in your home together with the serial numbers.

"If the police have found a Sony TV and they think that it might be stolen, they can access the site and search the Sony TV serial numbers to find out if it belongs to anyone on the property list.

"Theoretically, you don't even need to report it stolen, and we could still return it to you."