Statistics have shown that a significant number of house burglaries occur in premises left unsecured by the householder.

Crime prevention officer PC Neil Langthorne told a the Sedgefield Borough Burglary Task Group that three out of five of such offences could be prevented by ensuring doors and windows were locked.

He said: "People become complacent, particularly when at home, and we need residents to be aware of the sneak-in opportunist criminal."

The intelligence unit has identified this as a force-wide problem and in order to address it, Durham Constabulary is about to embark on an awareness campaign.

Detective Chief Inspector Colin Pearson, chairman of the task group, said: "The old-fashioned professional house-breaker is now a thing of the past and has been taken over by people who are opportunist, seeing an open window or door, gaining entry and stealing property, usually with the motive of funding drugs." He advised householders to secure their homes at all times and for neighbours to watch out for each other by involvement in schemes such as Neighbourhood Watch.