FORTY three people have been arrested and hundreds of suspected criminals have been visited as part of a crackdown on burglary.

The operation, which started at the beginning of February, has seen £7,000 of suspected stolen property recovered after raids in Burnley, Padiham, Barrowford, Nelson and Colne seized.

Items including a plasma TV, a laptop and 50 Xbox games were confiscated.

There were also: 358 people stopped and searched.

13 cars seized.

443 people with a history of criminal behaviour warned that they were being monitored.

31 second hand shops, where burglars may try to sell on stolen goods, visited.

Patrols were increased in hotspot burglary areas and leaflets were handed out to residents, who had not properly secured their homes, to warn them of the dangers and remind them to lock windows and doors.

SmartWater, which allows stolen goods to be traced, was also used and over 120 drivers were stopped and given advice on car security.

Last month police said burglary in the county had fallen by 7.2 per cent from 4,417 to 4,101 between December 2010 and December 2011.

Insp Carole Langhorne from Burnley Police said: “Burglary and car crime remain 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.”

The operation was launched last month following a rise in the number of burglaries reported to police and will continue until the end of March.

Anyone with information or concerns about burglary is aksed to contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.