HOUSE burglaries in Southend have dropped by 27 per cent following a police crackdown.

The launch of Operation Avenue has cut the number of burglaries to 320 between February and April this year.

This was down from 441 during the same three-month period last year.

Jim Sandford, of Southend CID, said: “At the moment we’ve got burglary as a priority for us and we aim to attend every house burglary within an hour. That’s because you get the best forensic evidence then and the best opportunity to speak to people in the area who might have seen suspects.”

The police also set up the Southend burglary squad which deals solely with raids on people’s homes.

In the past week, a 16-year-old boy has been charged with a burglary in Stonehill Road, Leigh, which happened on May 21. A 22-year-old man has been charged with a burglary in Highbank Close, Leigh, on May 3.

Both will appear before Southend Magistrates’ Court in the next few weeks.

However, Mr Sandford said they would not become complacent about tackling house burglaries in the borough.

He said: “We are still targeting burglary and if people come forward with information we still need that, and we still need people to be vigilant.

“A lot of the time if burglars get caught it’s because of people phoning at the time.”

Anyone with information about any burglaries is asked to call Southend burglary squad on 0300 3334444.