A MASSIVE increase in house burglaries in Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale has prompted a police crackdown on persistent offenders.

Two teams of dedicated officers, including detectives drafted in from the major crimes unit, are aiming to reduce the number of crimes and increase the number of offenders put before the court as part fo the campaign, code-named Operation Firewall.

In particular they will be targeting areas identified as being crime hot spots, including Gannow, Duke Bar, Rosegrove and Lowerhouse in Burnley; and Waterside, Horsefield and Vivary Bridge in Colne. But they will be operating across the Pennine Division. Superintendent Steve Hartley, who is heading Operation Firewall, has also urged people to help them tackle the problem.

Crime prevention officers will be stepping up their activities across the division and people are being asked to become more vigilant and report any suspicious activity in their area.

In the last three months, the number of burglaries had increased by 30 per cent on the previous quarter. This means 200 more break-ins were committed, which is an extra three a day in the division. Last year the division managed to reduce the number of incidents of burglary by 700. Superintendent Hartley said: "We are not talking about a crime epidemic, but there has been a significant rise statistically and if it carries on at the current rate we will see all the gains we made last year disappear."

He said there were a number of reasons for this increase, including heightened activity by a small number of offenders, who they were now actively targeting, and the recent hot weather, which had seen anrise in sneak-in burglaries because of people leaving windows and doors wide open.

Superintendent Hartley appealed for the public's support. He said: "I would urge residents to be on their guard and to report any suspicious activity. I would also ask anyone who has any information about any recent burglaries to come forward with information.

"Burglary is a real problem for us at the moment but it isn't insurmountable, certainly not if we all work together."

Superintendent Hartley has guaranteed the police will increase arrests for house burglaries by 20 per cent over the next three months, compared with the previous quarter.

He added that they would also be targeting businesses and individuals buying stolen goods to sell on, because he said they were "exacerbating the cycle of crime" by doing so.

Information can be given in confidence by telephone Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.