Police are hoping to clamp down on a seasonal spike in burglaries by visiting homes across Huntingdonshire which could be easy prey for crooks.

Officers are seeking properties left unsecured or otherwise vulnerable to burglary across the district as part of Operation Hunter.

The operation has been launched in a bid to reduce the number of burglaries in Cambridgeshire, which last year rose during November, December and January.

Officers will be patrolling “hot spot areas” and visiting residents to offer home security surveys.

Residents whose homes are at risk, for example due to open windows or being obviously unoccupied, will be given advice and crime prevention material.

Crime safety officer Carol Aston said: “Detectives are working hard to identify burglars and bring them to justice but the other main strand of our work is around prevention.

“We are seeking out those homes that are most at risk of being burgled, whether it be their location or they have been left unsecure.

“Our main aim is to raise awareness of what can be done to make your home uninviting to burglars.”

In the three months from August to October last year, there were 569 house burglaries in the county, compared to 628 during the following three months (November-January), a rise of more than 10 per cent.

For more information on burglary prevention visit http://www.cambs-police.co.uk/GetCloser/Burglary.asp