Before Christmas, the Police ran the first phase of Operation Beach, which successfully cut burglaries where it was run in parts of the west side of Gatley and Heald Green.

Now the next phase is starting.  The main objective is to get us, the householders, to be more careful about protecting our property and to keep an eye on what’s happening in our area.

For example

• in the snow, a group of lads spent hours driving around Cheadle Hulme and Bramhall in the morning, looking for anyone leaving their keys in their car while it was de-icing.
• is there a strange car sitting on your road for a week or two?  It might be legitimate, but it could be a stolen car so report it for checking.

Security tips include

• Always lock your doors and windows when you leave the house.
• Fit deadlocks to outside doors – burglars hate them because you need the key to open them from the inside as well.
• Don’t leave your car keys or house keys in sight, or in easy reach, of your windows and doors.
• Fit key-operated locks to your windows
• Install a visible burglar alarm and turn it on when you leave the house.
• Don’t hide your spare keys outside or in the garage or shed – burglars always look there.
• Leave the lights and radio on a timer when you go out for the evening, so it looks like you’re in.   You can get a timer from as little as £2 from a DIY shop.
• Don’t leave ladders or tools outside – someone could use them to get into the house.
• Don’t leave valuables like laptops where they can be seen from the window.

Burglary is rare in our area – taking sensible precautions will make it even rarer.

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