Wycombe residents have been urged to be extra vigilant in protecting their homes against burglaries following a national spike in the crime.

Residents at a meeting of the Wycombe District Neighbourhood Watch were reminded to leave lights on after dark and lock all windows and doors in the wake of climbing crime figures across the UK.

According to national reports, there has been a 10 per cent rise in police recorded crime over the past year across England and Wales - which includes burglary and vehicle theft.

Read more from the Wycombe Neighbourhood Watch meeting:

While the number of burglaries for Wycombe has actually decreased over the past year, director of operations for Wycombe Neighbourhood Watch, Geoff Pegg, said taking “simple precautions” will continue to deter criminals.

He said: “I spoke to a police officer in Hazlemere where I live, it must have been about five years ago, and at that time in a six-week period between Hazlemere and Tylers Green there had been 30 attempted or actual burglaries.

“Speaking just recently to a police community support officer in Hazlemere and I asked him when the last burglary was in Hazlemere – he couldn’t remember.

“I can’t promise that difference exists everywhere in those sorts of proportions but it is very different.”

Between July 2016 and June 2017 Wycombe saw a five per cent decrease in all burglaries from 725 to 689.

Mr Pegg added that burglary continues to be of “prime concern” to Neighbourhood Watch, particularly as it has a “considerable” impact on victims.

He continued: “We do still have to take care of our property and make sure doors and windows are closed when we go out, and lights are left on after dark, or make myself say after dusk, and these things still matter.”