POLICE have arrested a man in connection with a burglary in Charfield, which took place in the early hours of yesterday.

Thieves broke into a house and outbuildings on Wotton Road at around 2am and stole items including a fridge freezer, cement mixer, sander, scrap metal and a telescope.

A 30-year-old man was arrested today on suspicion of burglary and currently remains in custody.

Officers have carried out house-to-house enquiries and Crime Scene Investigators have examined the property for forensic evidence.

Neighbourhood PC Lee Bainbridge said: “We have had a half a dozen burglaries in the village in the past couple of months, which is unusual.

“Charfield is a safe place to live, with residents who do look out for their neighbours. Don’t be worried about calling us if you see something which doesn’t seem right - we’d always prefer to hear about a suspicious incident straight away.”

Police have reminded residents to call 999 if they think a crime is taking place, have seen a suspect in the area or think someone is at risk of getting hurt. Otherwise they are asked to ring 101 – both numbers are staffed 24/7.

A number of recommendations have also been made to help deter would-be burglars, including fitting motion sensing security lights and timer lights around the property and making sure garden furniture and wheelie bins can’t be moved to gain access to upstairs windows.

They have also suggested making sure doors and windows are locked, and alarms are set at night as well as when homeowners are out, and keeping keys, handbags and wallets safely out of sight and high value items in a secure safe, all marked with traceable asset marking liquid.

A record of valuables with photographs should be kept in case anything is taken.

Anyone with any information which could help police enquiries into the incident is asked to get in touch online, or by calling 101, quoting reference 5217002810.

Alternatively information can be given anonymously to independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.