A “CREEPER” burglar has struck four times in a week in a seaside town prompting police to warn residents to make sure their doors and windows are locked at night.

James Hore

A “CREEPER” burglar has struck four times in a week in a seaside town prompting police to warn residents to make sure their doors and windows are locked at night.

The burglar, who is said to lurk from garden to garden, has been operating in Harwich and has escaped with thousands of pounds of property.

He has managed to get through unsecured windows in houses in Stour Road, Highfield Avenue, Ramsey Road and Lee Road before stealing electrical goods.

Large televisions were taken from all four homes, a laptop, computer games consoles, mobile phones, cash, jewellery and other small items were taken from three of the properties.

Detectives believe the same person is responsible for all the burglaries, which happened between June 12 and 19 in the early hours of the morning.

Det Sgt Jules Cole of Harwich CID, said it was possible that more than one person was involved in the thefts.

He said: “We obviously have a creeper burglar going from house to house checking doors and windows to see if any are unlocked.

“We believe all these incidents are linked because they all happened in a fairly close area and all about the same times at night.

“The thief or thieves managed to get into four properties and brazenly took very large items such as televisions as well as smaller, easily carried items.

“I would urge everyone to be vigilant about locking up at night to make sure all ground floor windows and doors are locked.

“If anyone has information about the burglaries they should contact |Harwich CID on 0300 333 4444.

“If anyone sees any suspicious activity in gardens at night they should phone 999 immediately.”