POLICE are warning householders that darker evenings are a thieve's best friend following a series of raids.

Officers are urging people to take proper security measures after a number of shed burglaries in Sessay, near Thirsk.

The thefts are typical of the type of crime that increases at this time of year.

A police spokesman said: "Many people have finished for the year with equipment like lawnmowers and strimmers, so they put them away in the garden shed, along with their bicycles, and forget them.

"The trouble is, thieves are well aware that there are expensive goods out there and the dark nights provide perfect cover for them to move in.

"Garden equipment and bicycles are expensive and easily portable, and both can be found in sheds that may be easily broken into."

If there is no alternative to keeping expensive tools and equipment in a shed, precautions police are recommending include:

* Keeping fences, walls and gates in good repair; they are a useful first barrier for the thief to negotiate;

* Security lights with sensors can detect and illuminate intruders;

* Repair weak points in the fabric of sheds. Put mesh or bars on the inside of windows, and fit good-quality locks on the door - fittings should be bolted through the door and reinforced at the back with a steel plate.