SENIOR police chiefs this week urged householders in Lowestoft to remain vigilant and help play their part in the hunt for burglars responsible for a spate of break-ins at homes in the town.

SENIOR police chiefs this week urged householders in Lowestoft to remain vigilant and help play their part in the hunt for burglars responsible for a spate of break-ins at homes in the town.

The warning comes after another 'spike' in house burglaries and attempted burglaries in the Lowestoft area, with 38 break-ins recorded between October 27 and December 14. Alarmingly however, there have already been 21 house burglaries this month.

The Journal revealed in May how there had been 177 house burglaries and attempted burglaries between last December and the end of April this year. This figure then dropped dramatically over the summer months, but the problem has worryingly reared again.

'With another spike in house burglaries last week officers have put into place a number of measures - including increased patrols - to address the issue and work remains ongoing to catch those responsible for these crimes,' a police spokesperson said.

'It is recognised that house burglary can be a very distressing for victims and these offenders have no regard for others, so we would again urge residents to help us catch them in the act.'

Echoing these sentiments, Detective Chief Inspector Jim Keeble - who is Crime Manager for Waveney and the Suffolk Coastal Districts - exclusively told The Journal how the hunt to catch these callous offenders was underway once more with patrols being increased and additional police operations being carried out

'The message is clear, we are pursuing every option we can to catch these people who are determined to wreck people lives,' DCI Keeble said.

'We went through a poor period for burglaries between the end of last year and May, and now we have a problem again it seems - but we have a number of high profile operations with overt patrolling in the affected areas ongoing.'

In several of the offences large screen TVs - some up to 50in - have again been stolen and officers would like to hear from anyone if they see or have seen someone carrying similar electrical items.

'If you see anything suspicious or out of the ordinary please alert police immediately using 999,' DCI Keeble said.