New spate of burglaries sparks alert

EMPTY houses are proving to be sitting targets for burglars who have struck several times in the past week.

Homes in Falmouth and its surrounding villages have fallen victim to intruders who have stolen property worth several thousand pounds.

With the holiday season now upon us, the police are concerned that homes are being left empty, making them potentially easy prey for criminals.

“Most burglaries occur when property is empty, so when you are out, particularly after dark, consider a time switch which will turn lights on and off, making it look as it someone is at home,” said a police spokesman.

“If you are going on holiday, get a friend or neighbour to look after your home when you are away,” he added.

“If you need to cancel the milk and newspaper deliveries, do so by word of mouth. Do not leave notes which may get into the wrong hands.”

The recent spate of house break-ins includes an attack on a property in Falmouth’s Madeira Walk in the early hours of Sunday, June 18. The raiders got away with more than £600 worth of property.

 

Runaway sweep machine hits shop window

A RUNAWAY street-cleaning vehicle smashed into the window of Dig and Delve in Swanpool Street last Friday morning, causing £2,500 to £3,000 worth of damage.

It appears the small vehicle, belonging to Cory Municipal services, ran away up the steep one-way hill around 8am. The embarrassed driver claimed the brakes had failed as he was cleaning the kerb edge with swirling brushes.

Joint proprietor of the well-known second-hand goods shop, Louise Canden-Wiles, said metal grilles has been fitted to the shop only ten days before as a condition of insurance.

“The driver could really have hurt himself had it not been for the grille. And then we would have had a cleaning machine to sell,” she said.

The shop was unable to open on Friday morning because the big glass pane was bulging inside and threatened to crash large shards of glass everywhere at any minute.