A police officer in East Belfast has revealed that a third of all thieves who hit homes in the area throughout December, got in through an open door.
Inspector Pete Cunningham shared the revelation on online neighbourhood site nextdoor.co.uk.
He also revealed that most reported break-ins took place after dark but before midnight.
The PSNI man said: "Neighbours, just checked through burglaries for December 2019. Worryingly a third of these burglaries were facilitated by doors being left open.
"Please lock doors and windows (when possible) at all times, removes the opportunity for prospective burglars and also report suspicious activity in your area. This has been occurring mostly between the hours of 7pm - 11pm.
"Much effort has been put into catching offenders and we have had some good arrests with a notable decrease recently."
A total of 598 crimes were reported to officers working from Strandtown Police Station in December 2019 - including 145 theft related incidents.
They included 36 burglaries, 5 robberies, 21 instances of shoplifting and 10 bike thefts as well as 73 other sorts of theft.
CLICK HERE for advice on how protect your home from would-be intruders and here to see the crime map for the area.
