A Woodley neighbourhood is being plagued by ‘letterbox’ burglaries.

Police have stepped up patrols in a bid to combat the burglaries in Southlake, where 14 homes have been hit in the last two weeks.

Officers are urging townspeople to take handbags and keys to bed with them and make sure doors are locked to prevent burglars reaching valuables and opening front doors via the letterbox.

Mobile phones, handbags and cars have all been taken during the break-ins, prompting police to introduce a task car to target the area.

Officers will also be visiting schools around the town to hand out leaflets about crime prevention advice for schoolchildren to pass on to their parents.

PC Jen Banfield, neighbourhood specialist officer for Woodley, said: “Woodley has suffered a spate of burglaries in the last few weeks around the Southlake area.

“I would urge residents in the area to remain vigilant and to look out for neighbours’ houses if they are away.

“Most of the burglaries are letterbox burglaries, where a metal bar or similar is put through the letterbox to open the door handle from inside.

“We now have tasking vehicles involved around the area.

“We are doing what we can to try and prevent these types of burglaries from happening.”

PC Banfield said homes in Kingfisher Drive, Fairwater Drive and Norwich Drive had been hit during the recent spate.

- More in this week's Wokingham Times.