A PROLIFIC house burglar has struck five times in the last 10 days, forcing their way into homes during a series of raids. 

There have been five burglaries in the past 10 days, mostly forced entry, in and around London Road, Worcester.

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Patio doors have been smashed during some of the raids.

DI Dave Knight, who has a team investigating the burglaries, warned people to take extra steps to protect their homes and believes the offender is local to the city.

Meanwhile, patrols have been stepped up to protect city homes.

He said: "The WR5 postcode area of Worcester City is seeing a spate of burglaries of residential properties at the moment.

"We have identified that the London Road is seeing offences as well as streets off that location.

"West Mercia Police work closely with our Community Safety Partner for the City and we have developed a response to this series which includes increased patrols at all times of the day, as well targeted crime prevention.

"At this time of year we ordinarily do see an increase in house burglaries as criminals target those houses in a street at twilight that don’t have any lights come on.

"This indicates that no one is in the property.

"Timer lights are a cheap and effective method of giving the appearance that a house is occupied.

"I suspect that the criminal in this instance is local."

Detectives from the South Worcestershire CID Proactive Team are working hard to disrupt and identify the offender.

DI Knight said: "I am also interested to hear about who is handling the stolen property so we can get them through the Criminal Justice System."

The proactive team have had a series of successful results in tackling burglaries in south Worcestershire in recent months.

Worcester detectives have recovered high-value items, including a top-of-the-range BMW stolen in an aggravated car key burglary and jewellery of sentimental value. 

DS Grant Fraser, based at Worcester Police Station, who is tasked with investigating these crimes together with his team, has spoken of the impact burglary has on victims. 

DS Fraser previously said: “Having your home broken into is extremely impactive and distressing for the victims.

"As a police service we can never guarantee the recovery of stolen property, but we will always strive to identify those responsible and bring them to justice, whilst trying to ensure that victims get the help and support they need to continue to feel safe in their own homes."

Anyone with any information in relation to these Worcester Burglaries please contact West Mercia Police on 101 or contact Crime Stoppers anonymously on 0800555111 or online.