Officers have increased patrols and are sharing crime prevention advice following a high number of burglaries in St Albans, Harpenden and London Colney.

There were 32 burglaries and attempted burglaries in the area between Monday, October 28 and Wednesday, November 13.

The majority took place in St Albans, with burglaries in Marshalswick, Fleetville, St Stephen, How Wood and Park Street, and most took place in the evening with jewellery as the main target.

Jewellery was stolen from an address in Beverley Gardens between 8.30am and 9.30am on Monday, October 28 (crime reference 41/98505/19).

Between 7.30pm and 7.40pm on Wednesday, October 30 jewellery was also stolen from an address in Oakwood Drive (41/99149/19).

On Monday, November 4, jewellery was stolen from an address in Park Street between 7.30pm and 8.15pm (41/100178/19), and from an address in Penman Close between 5.30pm and 11pm (41/9930/19).

St Albans Det Insp Alex Warwick said: "We expect to see an increase in burglaries at this time of year with the darker evenings - but the current high numbers seem even worse because we had seen comparatively few offences up until the past fortnight.

"We have been proactively targeting people who are known to us for burglaries and are working closely with other districts and forces to trace the people responsible.

"Obviously we cannot be on every street 24 hours a days but we can help residents reduce the chances of being burgled. Most burglars are opportunist so will look for an easy way in and want to be out as quickly as possible."

Residents are advised to make their home unattractive to thieves by giving it a 'lived-in' look; investing in timer switches, doorbell cameras and CCTV and making sure you lock windows and doors, especially at night.

DI Warwick added: "Please call 999 if you suspect a burglary may be in progress - this gives us the best chance of catching someone in the act and stopping other people being burgled.

"If you see any vehicles acting suspiciously, try and note down the registration numbers if you can and call us straight away on 999. Watch out for your neighbours' properties, particularly if you know they are away."

Anyone with information about the above burglaries is asked to report information online at herts.police.uk/report or call the non-emergency number 101, quoting the relevant crime reference number.