POLICE in East Lancashire have arrested 43 people and visited hundreds of suspected criminals as part of a countywide crackdown on burglary.

Officers carried out the activity as part of Operation Julius II – a force-wide initiative aimed at preventing and detecting burglary.

The operation, which will run until the end of March, was launched following a small rise in the number of burglaries reported to police.

Warrants have been executed at 15 addresses in Burnley, Padiham, Barrowford, Nelson and Colne and officers have seized more than £7,000 of suspected stolen property - including a plasma TV, Toshiba Laptop and 50 Xbox games.

Officers have stopped and searched 358 people and 13 vehicles have been seized.

A further 443 people who have a known criminal history have been visited and warned their behaviour is being monitored.

Patrols have been increased in hot spot areas and visits are being made to 31 second hand shops where burglars may try to sell on stolen goods.

Leaflets have been delivered to people’s homes which have been found insecure and officers have been speaking to residents to remind them to lock their doors and windows.

Insp Carole Langhorne said: “Burglary and car crime remains low and we are determined to keep it that way. This operation allows us to target criminals who pose us the greatest threat around car crime and burglaries, while highlighting to residents the things that they can do to avoid becoming a victim.”