THE number of burglaries, robberies and vehicle crimes went up this summer.

A series of campaigns has run throughout this year, and last, in a bid to beat burglars, which police rank as one of their top priorities.

But in June, July, and August in Blackburn, Darwen, Hyndburn, and Ribble Valley, there were 209 burglaries, compared to 182 in the same period the previous year, a rise of 15per cent.

Police said the rise was due to a ‘hard core’ group of six drug-using criminals who were responsible for many of the crimes in the area.

Vehicle crime also shot up, with 498 incidents this summer, compared to 408 last year.

But anti-social behaviour fell, with almost 2,000 fewer reports.

East Lancashire fared the worst in the new crime figures, released by the county’s police force.

In Burnley, burglaries went up by 30per cent.

Inspector Dave Mangan said that while burglaries had risen, they still remained at a historical low following their best results in 35 years last year.

He said: “The number of burglaries is higher this year than last year.

Much of that can be linked to one particular gang committing burglaries to pay for their drug habits.

“Reducing the numbers of burglaries will always remain a priority. We brought this gang in and told them in no uncertain terms to engage with us and address their drug use, or face the consequences.”

He said that tactics, including following known burglars, both overtly and covertly, as well as leaflet-dropping their neighbours had been put in place this summer.