Avoid letterbox burglaries
Essex Police Newsline
Police in Southend are reminding residents to keep their keys away from their front doors, following a small spate of burglaries in the area.
Last month, three similar burglaries occurred in Whittingham Avenue, Southend, Satanita Road in Westcliff and Leigham Court Drive in Leigh. In each burglary, it is believed an extendable item was placed through the letterbox in order to reach and remove keys from the hallway.
In Whittingham Avenue, it is believed this method was used to obtain the house keys as the house was then entered and £1,000 of electrical items and jewellery were taken.
In the other two incidents, car keys were removed and the vehicles were then stolen from outside. An Audi A3, valued at £20,000, was taken from Satanita Road and a Vauxhall Astra Club, valued at £15,500, was removed from Leigham Court Drive.
A further incident also took place in July, where items valued at a total of £64,000 were stolen from an address in Queens Road, Leigh. These included an Audi TT and a Mercedes SLK200, which were later recovered in London.
Chief Supt Jacqui Cheer, of Southend Division, said: “This type of crime can be avoided simply by keeping your keys away from the front door. Maybe consider having a pot for your keys inside a kitchen cupboard or even taking your keys into your bedroom at night to ensure you don’t fall victim to a letterbox burglary.”
