POLICE are investigating a number of burglaries, which have taken place across Barton-on-Sea in the last four months.

As part of Operation Figure, detectives are linking 16 burglaries which happened in the area between September 6 and December 12.

On Sunday, December 11, an offender forced open a window to access a house in Barton Court Avenue. Once inside, the burglary alarm was activated and the offender made off. Nothing was stolen.

Between Thursday, December 1, and Sunday, December 4, the offender forced entry into a house in Moorland Avenue via a ground floor window. Once inside, they searched the house and took jewellery, a laptop, and a docking station.

On the afternoon of Monday, December 5, the offender attempted to force entry into a house in Chestnut Avenue. Nothing was stolen.

On Saturday, November 26, the offender entered a house in Royston Place by reaching through a top window and opening a bigger window to climb through. Jewellery worth £2,400 was stolen.

During the afternoon of Monday, November 21, the offender stole jewellery from a house in Sea Road. Between Wednesday, November 2, and Friday, November 11, the offender smashed the patio door of a house in Uplands Avenue and, once inside, stole cash and jewellery.

Between Monday, October 3, and Thursday, October 6, the offender searched a house in Barton Common Lane and stole jewellery.

Detective sergeant Will Whale said: “We are urging members of the community to be vigilant and to report all suspicious activity to the police immediately.

“As always, we would urge all residents to make sure they keep valuable items secure and take photos of them for insurance purposes.

“We’re carrying out regular patrols in the affected areas and speaking to members of the community. We have a dedicated investigation team and we have active lines of inquiry that we are following at this time.”

He added: "A lot of valuable and sentimental jewellery has been stolen during these incidents and we are actively following lines of inquiry into the stolen property market to trace these items. If you buy jewellery that is stolen, you are committing an offence; I urge you to call us straight away if you’re offered any items you think could be stolen.”