BOSCOMBE police are calling on residents to ensure their homes are kept secure as the weather improves.

Inspector Chris Weeks said recent storms and heavy rain had led to a reduction in burglaries since the beginning of January, as residents were securing doors and windows when out.

However, Boscombe, Pokesdown and Springbourne still experienced a series of dwelling burglaries last month in which an array of electronic items, jewellery and a bike were stolen.

“We are on 20 fewer victims in relation to dwelling burglaries over the year to date (April 2013 to present) and crime overall continues to decrease,” said Inspector Weeks. “Because it has been so miserable people have kept windows closed and doors locked and secured, so the opportunities for crime are reduced.

“We would urge the community to consider these simple crime prevention measures as the weather improves.”

In Boscombe itself, computer equipment was stolen from a property in Gloucester Road on February 1, and on February 8-9 thieves attempted to force entry to a property in Keswick Road via a cat flap.

On February 11, offenders broke into a property in Chessel Avenue but left empty handed, and on February 19 a flat screen TV was taken from a home in Churchill Road.

The weekend of February 21 to 23 saw a bike stolen from a garage in Woodland Avenue, a digital camera stolen from a home in Christchurch Road, and a house in Wentworth Avenue raided via a ground floor window.

Springbourne saw a home in Victoria Road burgled on February 10 thanks to an insecure door, while a mobile phone and cash were taken from a property in Stanley Road between February 13 and 14.

A property in Spring Road was raided between February 22 and 25.

Pokesdown was also subject to a series of burglaries in a concentrated area, with jewellery taken from a home in West Road on January 29, and laptops from a property in Darracott Road on February 14, and a shed broken into in Livingstone Road on February 10.

To contact Dorset Police with information about any of these offences call 101, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.