VISITORS to a nursery were given advice on how to protect their homes against burglars.
PC Steve Davies, Cleveland Police's burglary reduction officer, and Colin Hopkins, Hart-lepool's former crime prevention officer who now works in a similar role for the New Deal for Communities regeneration programme, visited the town's Stranton Nursery.
They gave a range of advice and also took time to promote the Plants Against Crime initiative by highlighting how thorny shrubs and bushes can be used to form barriers, preventing trespassers gaining entry to homes via gardens.
PC Davies said: "The use of spiky plants is one way of improving home security, but there are also numerous others.
"A worrying trend to emerge recently is that more than 50 per cent of the burglaries committed in the town this month have occurred through open doors and windows, so I would advise people to keep their doors locked, even when they are in the house."
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