Countless families have been left devastated after a spate of burglaries in the area.

While the festive season already proves costly, an increased number of St Albans residents will find it all that harder after falling victim to break-ins.

The burglary crime wave appears to have targeted a huge number of homes, with more incidents coming to light every week.

One woman, who wished to remain anonymous, recently had her family home trashed by thieves who left her house in pieces after they broke in.

She said: “We are still trying to sort out the house as literally everything was on the floor and muddled up. We even had to repaint the kitchen. We’re still waiting for the patio doors to be fixed.

“The burglar alarm man said he had been to six houses in our immediate area within two days to quote for alarms.

“It’s frustrating. I think the police might be a bit overstretched in this area and it’s being swept under the carpet.

“If they had come sooner they might have caught our burglars as they did have a sighting of three suspicious men and there were various indicators to say they had been in our house very recently when we arrived home.”

Twitter and local Facebook pages have been inundated with stories of burglaries and warnings to be vigilant with security.

Police have confirmed an increased number of burglaries in the area without giving any details. Stolen items ranging from cash and jewellery, to drum kits and guitars.

Det. Insp. Neil Langford from the St Albans Local Crime Unit said: “Around this time of year, when the evenings are longer, we do tend to see an increase in the number of burglaries.

“One reason for this is because the shorter days make it easier to tell which homes are unoccupied, as they are often left unlit when people are out in the afternoons.

“We have seen this in the St Albans area and we will be increasing out patrols and employing both overt and covert tactics in order to deter and catch any would-be burglars.”

For more information on how to prevent burglaries, visit: www.herts.police.uk/advice/crime_prevention/beating_burglary.aspx