BURGLARY rates in the borough are the third highest in London, the latest figures have shown.

Redbridge residents suffered 226 break-ins in September – about a third more than the London average of 148 and the 154 burglaries in neighbouring Waltham Forest.

The number of homes broken into in Redbridge rose from 199 in August to 226 in September, bringing the total for the past three months to 625, compared with just over 500 in Waltham Forest.

The borough has crept up the list of boroughs with the most break-ins this year, from the 10th highest in May with 193 to the sixth in June, the seventh highest in July and the fifth in August.

Redbridge saw the worst burglary rates in London last year, with 1,000 homes broken into between December and February.

The borough’s top police officer, Detective Chief Superintendent Sue Williams, told the Guardian in March that the worst period for burglaries in the borough over the past few years had been November to February.

Despite 226 burglaries being recorded in the borough in September, the Guardian has so far received just two police appeals for information on burglaries committed during that month.

So far, police have tracked down and charged all those responsible for seven of the burglaries reported.

Kate Coughlan, 33, whose home in Lechmere Avenue, South Woodford, was burgled in April, said people should be made more aware of burglary rates, in preparation for the seasonal peak.

“I wish we had been a bit more aware of how prevalent it was,” she added. “We’ve only had that feeling of fear since it’s happened and we know how important it is to double-lock the doors.

“Maybe there are so many (burglaries), they don’t want to alarm people, but I think you’re better knowing, because you can be on your guard.”

A camera containing precious film of the first few minutes after her daughter Minnie was born was among the items stolen from Ms Coughlan and her partner Andy Makin.

No-one has yet been arrested and a neighbour’s CCTV failed to capture the faces of the burglars or the registration number of the car they were driving.

Chief Inspector Bill Brame, who heads the borough’s Safer Neighbourhoods teams, said: “We’ve been looking at where the offenders are, and the locations burglaries are taking place.

“We’ve been doing new work around prevention, sending out leaflets reminding people to keep their houses lit at this time of year.

“We’ve been targeting the train and Underground stations, because we find that Redbridge as a borough is east to access and we look at having officers at all Tube and train stations.”

He said his team had been focussing on Tube stations this week, as well as informing religious groups about the risk of Asian gold being stolen during the festival of Diwali.

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