People in Herefordshire are being urged to be vigilant after a number of burglaries across the county.

In the space of 48 hours, at least nine burglaries have been reported to police including one in Weston under Penyard when a house was broken into between 9.10am and 8.20pm on Tuesday, February 5th. Two houses in Llangarron were burgled between 11pm on Monday and 9am Tuesday. A house in Upton Bishop was broken into between 5.30pm on Tuesday and 8.10am Wednesday, February 6th.

"Experience tells us that burglars often live reasonably close to their victims and work a local patch," says Detective Chief Inspector for Herefordshire, Sean Paley. He adds: "They will return to or near to properties they have already broken into, so please bear this in mind if you live in any of the neighbourhoods where these recent burglaries have taken place.

"We have had as many burglaries reported to us in two days as we typically see over the space of a week. Obviously this increase is a concern to us and officers will leave no stone unturned in finding those responsible for these offences.

"Tackling burglary is a priority for West Mercia Police and under Citadel, a force initiative which aims to drive down burglary rates and catch offenders, we continue to work very hard to beat the burglars."

A range of operational tactics to catch burglars have been deployed under the Citadel initiative, including greater analysis of crime patterns, co-ordinated use of new technology such as Automatic Number Plate Recognition software, partnership work and high visibility patrols in burglary hotspots.

Det Ch Insp Paley adds: "In light of this recent spate of burglaries, I would urge people to act on crime prevention advice and help police by ringing 999 if they see anything suspicious in their area."

People can take the following steps to protect their homes:

While the dark evenings are still with us, residents are urged to leave a light on to make it look like someone is at home.

We recommend householders invest in timer switches to turn lights and radios on while they are out.Plenty of outside lighting will also deter burglars as well as gates to the rear of properties being secured.

We advise everyone to property mark their valuables and make the details viewable to the police by registering them on Immobilise - http://www.immobilise.com/">http://www.immobilise.com/. It's free to register your belongings and should the worst happen, it will improve the chances of getting them back if they are lost or stolen.

Anyone with information about any of the burglaries mentioned in this release can call police on 0300 333 3000, or contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

For more stories in full please see this week's Ross Gazette.