Lincolnshire Police are warning residents in Bourne and the surrounding areas to check their outbuilding security following 19 break-ins in just over three weeks.
All but one of the offences have all taken place in the hours of darkness, with the majority occurring during weekends, in Bourne town centre and the villages of Cawthorpe, Dyke and Morton.
In most cases, the sheds or outbuildings targeted were forced open in a similar way, and some were accessed after being left insecure. Items stolen range from bikes and power tools, motorbike clothing, to food from a freezer, memorabilia and a Quad bike. In some cases, nothing was stolen but the property was left damaged.
Police say they are working hard to find those responsible and have a dedicated Detective Constable from their CID team investigating these burglaries. Officers have conducted house-to-house enquiries, viewed CCTV footage, and are carrying out extra patrols in the areas they know to be targeted during the times they have seen spikes in crime. There are also a number of other investigative avenues police are following which they say they can’t share for operational reasons.
Police are now calling on the community to help them find those responsible.
Inspector Mark Hillson said: “These burglaries have a significant impact on the people who are targeted. This is the theft of things that their hard-earned money has bought. The people breaking in to these outbuildings and stealing someone else’s personal possessions has absolutely no regard for the impact it has on the victim.
“We are keeping an open mind about all of the incidents, but we are considering the possibility that they are linked, and that the people responsible are local to the area. This is very unusual for the Bourne area and we know that someone in our community will know the people responsible for this.
“We would urge them to do the right thing and come forwards. We would also urge anyone with a shed or outbuilding to check they have taken as many steps as they can to secure their property, and we have a number of tips available here.”
Police are particularly keen to see any CCTV footage, doorbell footage or dashcam which might have captured any of the incidents and those responsible. They are asking anyone in the below areas who has a camera to check the footage recorded and submit it if it may help investigations.
These are the times and locations of incidents:
- Ancaster Road, Bourne, between 5pm on 9 December and 10.30am on 10 December
- Casthorpe Road, Bourne, between 5pm on 9 December and 8am on 10 December
- Ancaster Road, between 9pm on 9 December and 8am on 10 December
- Wagoners Way, Boure, between 9.45pm on 9 December and 9am on 10 December
- Wood View, Bourne, hours of darkness overnight between 9 December and 10 December
- High Street, Bourne, hours of darkness overnight between 9 December and 10 December
- Victoria Place, Bourne, between 9pm on 6 December and 9am on 7 December
- Main Road, Dyke, between 8am on 6 December and 1.50pm on 8 December
- Coggles Causeway, Bourne, between 9pm on 6 December and 8.15am on 7 December
- Main Road, Bourne, between 10pm on 6 December and 8am on 7 December
- North Road and Broadway Close, Bourne, between 11pm on 3 December and 2am on 4 December – four separate properties targeted during this time
- Mill Drove, Bourne, between 11.23pm on 28 November and 11am on 2 December
- Harrington Street, Bourne, between 2.30am and 4.30am on 20 November
- Ancaster Road, between 9.30pm on 19 November and 7.30am on 20 November
- Queen’s Road, Bourne, hours of darkness overnight between 29 November and 30 November
- Mill Drive, Bourne, between 11.23pm on 28 November and 11am on 2 December
If you can help, please email Callum.Lacey2@lincs.police.uk or stamfordbourneanddeeping@lincs.police.co.uk referencing the relevant location, date and time.
