WALTHAMSTOW is a burglary hotspot, according to research by a price comparison website.

Moneysupermarket.com has compiled a list of the top 20 postcode areas in the UK where people have made home insurance claims for burglary and Walthamstow is 16th on the list.

According to the research, 24 out of 1,000 households in the E17 area have filed claims for burglary.

The research's findings come days after Waltham Forest council leader Chris Robbins called for more police officers for the borough, saying it is 120 officers short of what it needs to combat crime more effectively.

Met figures show there were 3,376 reported burglaries in Waltham Forest as a whole in the 12 months to July, an increase of six per cent on the previous year.

Three postcodes in the East Midlands, in Arnold and West Bridgford in Nottinghamshire, and an area of Leicester were the top three hotspots.

Other areas of London in the list include Battersea, Croydon, Forest Hill (in south-east London) and Fulham.