POLICE have said they do not believe south Worcestershire is suffering from an upward trend in burglaries despite a number of break-ins being reported recently.

Burglaries reported within the past month have included ones in Arden Road, St Peter’s, and Hanbury Avenue, St John’s, both Worcester, along with one in Warndon Villages, two in Hallow, near Worcester, and another in Shirley Road, Droitwich.

Some of the burglaries had similar hallmarks, with offenders escaping with cash and jewellery in at least four of the break-ins.

In Shirley Road, Droitwich, a thief used a downstairs window to break in between 2.50pm and 6.20pm on Wednesday, February 22, and stole 150 euros.

In Hallow, two homes were burgled within a week, on Saturday, February 18, and Saturday, February 25.

At one, patio doors were forced open and jewellery, a computer console, computer games and foreign currency were taken.

At the other, a downstairs window was forced open and jewellery and foreign currency stolen.

Figures for the number of domestic burglaries that have happened in south Worcestershire in February are not yet available.

However, in January, 58 burglaries were reported compared with 97 for the same month in 2011.

In December there were 70 burglaries while the previous year there were 55.

A spokesman for West Mercia Police said: “As you can see from the statistics we have ups and downs in the number of burglaries.

“However, there is nothing to suggest that we have an ongoing problem with burglaries in south Worcestershire.”

He also reminded people to be vigilant about security at their homes and make sure windows and doors were not left open and unlocked.