£16k of jewellery stolen from Blackburn homes (From This Is Lancashire)

£16k of jewellery stolen from Blackburn homes

11:00am Sunday 10th March 2013 in News

PEOPLE are being urged to take down details of suspicious vehicles after £16,000 worth of jewellery was stolen during four burglaries.

Blackburn police are asking for help to catch the gang of thieves believed to be deliberately targeting Asian householders in the Pleckgate area looking for gold jewellery.

Over the last three days there have been four burglaries, police said.

On Thursday more than £16,000 work of gold necklaces, bracelets, rings and earrings were stolen from a Pleckgate Farm.

Thieves also got away with £700 in jewellery from a home in Colenso Road and a stash of identification documents including passports were stole from a house in Revidge Road.

Another house was targeted by the gang of three or four men in Dukes Brow, Blackburn, but they were disturbed before they could steal anything.

One victim said: “When I returned from a early Mother’s Day meal I noticed my bedroom light was on. I as opened the front door I noticed things were out of place and realised we’d been burgled.

“They stole lot’s of jewellery, cash and an Asian outfit my son wore to a wedding.

“The whole thing feels like a massive invasion of privacy. We never usually go out in the evening so they must have been watching us.”

Police are now appealing for residents keep their eyes open for anything suspicious and to mark down number plates of suspicious vehicles.

Sgt Eric Halford, of Blackburn’s Target Team, said: “All these burglaries have taken place in the late afternoon or early evening and they are clearly after Asian jewellery.

“I am urging people to be vigilant and to report suspicious vehicles driving around their neighbourhoods.

“Even just recording the registration numbers and then calling them into the police could help catch these people, who won’t stop until they are caught.

“I would also encourage people to keep their doors and windows locked.”