A burglar who uses scaffolding to get into homes in Brighton and Hove is being hunted by police.
Four homes in Castle Street and Kensington Place, Brighton and Lansdowne Road and New Church Road, Hove, have been broken into in the early hours of the morning over a two-week period from 21 August to 4 September.
Cash, electronic items and mobile phones have been stolen in the burglaries.
Some of the properties targeted had ground floor windows open and scaffolding on the building which the intruder may have climbed to gain access.
Detective Inspector Sharon Ford said: “We are linking these burglaries and are keen to hear from any witnesses who may have seen anyone acting suspiciously in these areas.
“We have stepped up policing patrols in the areas and would advise the public to be mindful about their home security. They should ensure they don’t leave windows and doors open or unlocked, particularly if the building currently has scaffolding.”
If you have any information which could assist our investigation, please report online or call 101 quoting 175 of 27/08. If it is a crime in action, phone 999.
This isn’t a new thing, the same thing happened 5 or 10 years ago in Brighton, that’s when the scaffold alarms really took off. In the grand scheme of things-I.e the cost of the scaffolding plus the work you are having done another £300 to alarm it is peanuts!
I have been living in Brighton for 30 years and I have always known scaffolding as ‘burglar balconies’. If you have scaffolding up you need to keep windows closed and locked when you are not in; obvious really!