Please be vigilant

Crime around School Drive, Millington Gardens & Chaise Meadow

There have been a number of worrying incidents in the last few months:

October 2010- House burglary- Millington Gardens approx. 2.15pm. Patio door smashed in. Alarm did go off but this did not deter them and whole house ransacked.

December 2010- Two males-teenagers, caught at side of a house on Millington Gardens. Walked off when confronted with faces hidden

January 2011- at least 5 Sat Navs taken from vehicles- No sign of forced entry- a device that tunes into frequency of car to unlock likely to have been used. If you find yours is missing please report it to the police

7th February 2011- A man looking in windows of a house on School Drive- chased off- got into a car parked near the Co-op. This was at 9.15pm

15th February- Millington Gardens. Again car broken into and items taken- no forced entry- owner even checked cars were locked at 11pm. Again please check your vehicles and report any crime

These are just incidents that I am aware of- there may be more.

There are a number of things that we can all do to help eliminate these nasty episodes

  • Please respond to house alarms. It is sometimes easy to assume it is a mistake or that someone else has checked all is ok.
  • Report any suspicious individuals/activity. An area gets more patrols if a crime has been committed recently.
  • Police have advised back gates are padlocked.
  • Please do not keep desirable items in cars- if the criminals realise there is nothing to steal they will not take the risk- some cars have been “opened” twice in the hope old sat nav models that were stolen have been replaced.
  • Increase lighting by installing security lights (again a police recommendation)
  • Mark high value items with a UV pen with your house number and postcode
  • PLEASE BE AWARE- that in many of the houses the “break glass” sensor on the back patio doors will NOT activate if the glass is smashed, this is because they have been incorrectly installed above the frame and not on it (!) Also houses on the end rows- your side windows may not have any break glass sensors- Both things can be easily installed/repositioned by an alarm specialist.
  • Peter Astbury who is the Neighbourhood Watch Contact- regularly sends updates about issues on the estate, so please pass on your e-mail address if you are not on the contact list

If we are all more vigilant, increase security and reduce “temptation” we can reduce these incidents.

Cheshire Police: 0845 458 0000 Local PCSO- Mike Luckett can advise on security measures.

Peter Astbury: 07951554079 - 55 Chaise Meadow

From a concerned neighbour, who wants to keep this estate a nice place to live!