Two attempted burglaries in the same road on the same day has prompted police to issue advice to guard against crime.

On June 25, police were called at 12.40am with reports someone had poked a bamboo cane through a letterbox in Rockliffe Avenue in Kings Langley.

On the same morning at 5.53am another person on the same road called police reporting a stick had also been pushed through their letterbox.

Police are treating both incidents as attempted burglaries.

Photo courtesy of homeowner 

Watford Observer:

Sarah Lawrence, the first victim, said: “It is just shocking it could happen in Kings Langley and so early in the morning. We have two small children in the house.

“I heard a bang in the night and I thought it was my clothing rack falling over. I heard a scrape, a scratching along the wall and when I came down in the morning it was shocking to see they had been trying to get my bag.

“The police were absolutely amazing they followed it up straight away offering victim support. And the community spirit, their response has been amazing. They’ve been offering advice and tips about security.”

Anyone who saw anything suspicious in the area overnight or has any information that could help the police investigation is asked to contact Hertfordshire Constabulary via the non-emergency number 101, quoting crime reference 41/20885/18 and 41/21052/18, or report information online at www.herts.police.uk/Report.

Alternatively contact the independent crime-fighting charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or submit details through their anonymous online form at www.crimestoppers-uk.org

Hertfordshire Constabulary have offered the following crime prevention advice:

•    Keys should always be kept in a safe and secure location, out of sight and away from windows or letterboxes. Sometimes vehicles are stolen when thieves manage to steal keys placed close to letterboxes or insecure windows and doors, allowing them to drive the vehicles away without having to break into them.

•    If your vehicle has a keyless entry system, ensure you place the tablet key in your home as far away from the vehicle as possible - ideally in a metal box.

•    Sometimes vehicles are stolen when thieves jam the remote door locking frequency by using specialist jamming equipment. They then enter the vehicle and clone a key from the On Board Diagnostic (OBD) port using specialist software. To help prevent this, consider fitting an ‘OBD safe’ device; a secure lockable device that fits over the on board diagnostic port, in the vehicle cabin. This prevents criminals using software to code a key from the vehicle. We recommend devices that are Thatcham approved, Sold Secure, or Secured by Design.