A police chief says thieves are targeting Otley because “it’s easy”.

An increase in the number of sneak-in burglaries in the town is being blamed on householders’ failure to take simple precautions to keep the thieves out.

Now the town’s police inspector is urging residents to be more vigilant after seeing a significant summer spike in sneak-in burglaries – the biggest he has experienced in his police career.

The number of break-ins to homes in the town over the past three months has risen to 22, a figure that is causing the police some concern.

But their real worry is about how many of those burglaries, more than 70 per cent, saw the intruders gain entry without having to do anything more than push open an unlocked door or squeeze through a window that had been left ajar.

The police have made some arrests in connections with recent break-ins but Inspector Richard Coldwell, of the North West Outer Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT), said residents needed to change their behaviour.

He said: “There’s no denying that the figures have gone up and that it is worrying. Since the start of July, through to September, we have had 22 burglaries which doesn’t sound that much and is only seven a month.

“But nevertheless it is worrying and what is especially worrying for us is that if you ask yourself ‘why are they coming to Otley?’ the answer is ‘because it’s easy’.

“More than 72 per cent of the burglaries we have had over these months have involved burglars gaining entry through open doors or windows – that is three out of every four.

“I have never encountered statistics like this, nearly 75 per cent for burglaries that were all preventable. Across Leeds, generally speaking, the figure is only something like one in four, although it does vary and in some areas it goes higher.

“But even in student areas like Hyde Park, which I used to cover, the number of sneak-ins would be up to around 50 per cent – never as high as this.

“They say people’s greatest fear is being attacked in their beds but most of these happened between 10pm and 6am, so they were done while people were in their homes at night, and these are downstairs doors and windows that have been left unsecured.

“So I am appealing to everyone to be vigilant, please don’t make my job harder and the criminals’ job easier – lock your doors and windows.”

Insp Coldwell said he was confident some of those responsible for the break-ins had now been caught, but help was still needed to track down others.

He said: “We have had some successes and recently arrested two men who were breaking into the Wharfe View Newsagents and Café on Bridge Street. They have been remanded in custody.

“We have also made other arrests and I’m happy that we’ve done some good work. But we can’t do it alone.

“We have remanded some quite active criminals in custody so it looks like we might have got to the heart of the matter and caught the right people, but we do need residents to be vigilant. You would think that in a town like Otley people would be vigilant anyway.

“We are also appealing for anyone with information about who might be responsible for any of these burglaries to get in touch.”

Anybody who can help should contact Otley Police on 01274 471458 or call the Crimestoppers number, anonymously and in confidence, on 0800 555 111.