DRUG addicts are thought to be responsible for a spate of thefts, Thirsk Town Council was told.

Sergeant John Hunter said the thefts, plus a further four over the past week in the St Mary's Road area, and car break-ins at Catton village, were mainly due to drug users desperate for cash.

"Yes, Thirsk does have a drugs problem like many towns. The trouble is users taking part in rehabilitation were released back into the same peer group and are quickly back on heroin," he said.

Two young people were in custody from earlier thefts, but it was thought that the latest had been carried out not by locals, as electrical and computer equipment had turned up for sale in Bradford.

Sgt Hunter said: "We can only urge people to be vigilant and ring us if they see strange cars in their street or turning round in their drives. People should also lock their doors and windows as the latest sneak thefts occurred around tea-time.

"The items taken were either goods which could be sold quickly for cash or cash itself, probably by someone desperate to fuel their need for drugs."

He stressed that Thirsk remained a relatively crime free town

Statistics may occasionally show that crime rates were up by 50 or even 100 per cent, but if the figures was already low, which they were in Thirsk, it didn't take many more to double the percentage, he said.