RESIDENTS are bringing a whole new meaning to DIY - by staging fake burglaries for insurance cash.

Sergeant Mark Vaughton, of Blackburn's burglary team, today revealed the practice was increasing in the town.

He spoke out to warn residents they will be prosecuted for such attempted cons after a 21-year-old man received a police caution for faking a break-in at his home in the Whalley Range area.

The man claimed he returned from a night out to find a burglar had stolen a £700 laptop computer and smashed up his house to the extent that it would need re-decorating.

More than six hours of police time was wasted investigating the claim and crime scene investigators were also deployed for a forensic examination.

As officers conducted door-to-door inquiries, they discovered the man was at home at the time of the alleged burglary.

They arrested the man on suspicion of obtaining a pecuniary advantage by deception but, as he had no previous convictions, officers only gave him a caution.

Sgt Vaughton said: "Over the past couple of months we believe people have been making false burglary claims to get work done to their houses. We are concerned there may be a growing trend.

"From the amount of time we spend with a genuine victim, we know burglary is a traumatic experience. It is also very time-consuming from our point of view.

"When we get people making bogus burglaries for their own benefit, officers still spend the same time dealing with it as genuine victim. The burglary team want to deal with genuine victims and not waste our time with people maliciously reporting offences."

In Blackburn last year, burglaries fell 22 per cent from 704 in 2002 to 551.