CARELESS residents are providing thieves with easy picking in a Teesside town.

Criminals did not have to break in to homes in Middlesbrough to help themselves to cash, jewellery, credit cards and mobile phones.

To the despair of Cleveland Police, and only hours after an insurance industry report highlighted the North-East as the worst in the country for walk-in burglaries, thieves helped themselves to rich pickings after finding house windows and doors left open or unlocked.

Seven homes across Middlesbrough were hit on Thursday, with entry times ranging from the late afternoon to the early evening and overnight.

"This is so disappointing. If people had kept their windows and doors closed and locked, there wouldn't have been any burglaries in the district yesterday,'' said Sergeant Glynn Bass, Middlesbrough's crime prevention officer.

"Householders are making it far too easy for criminals. If an opportunity is presented to them, they will take it,'' he added.

"House burglary is one of the most distressing crimes, as victims often feel violated that strangers have been searching through their belongings.

"The advice from me is simple: shut it and lock it."

Most of Thursday's walk-in burglaries were through unlocked front doors and windows, despite repeated warnings from police about keeping homes secure.

A report from Halifax Home Insurance, published this week, showed that between January 2000 and June this year, the North-East had 17 times as many claims following burglaries than Northern Ireland; twice as many claims as London and five times more than the South-West.

Over the summer, the number of claims nationally rises by 21 per cent, as people leave doors and windows open.

* Anyone wanting crime prevention advice on Teesside can contact the team at Middlesbrough, on (01642) 303171 or log on to www.cleveland.police.uk