Monmouthshire residents are being urged to protect their belongings from opportunist thieves after a recent spate of burglaries and car break-ins.

The simple message from officers is to keep belongings out of view – in both vehicles and homes.

Also, residents are asked to lock up their homes and vehicles before leaving them unattended or going to bed.

In a two-week period (8th to 21st November), six house burglaries were reported in Monmouthshire, four of which were due to homes being left insecure.

Three householders had left their doors unlocked before going to bed and one other victim had left a window open while going out in the daytime.

To highlight the importance of simple crime prevention steps, in the same period there have been nine thefts from motor vehicles in residential areas.

For full story see beacon 30/11/11.