Greater Manchester Police has insisted it takes all reports of crime ‘incredibly seriously’ after being slammed by a burglary victim.

David Booth, from Over Hulton, said the force’s response was ‘a shambles’ after they failed to visit him in person after he confronted intruders who forced their way into his home.

The terrifying incident happened at Mr Booth’s house in Rutherford Drive, during the early hours of Sunday morning, but four days later officers had still not been out to see him.

The 37-year-oldalso said neighbours found it ‘disgraceful’ there had been no visible police presence on the street following the break-in.

But GMP has defended the way it deals with reports of crime.

Inspector Scott Brady, GMP’s Bolton Borough said: “We investigate each report thoroughly and ensure all opportunities are explored; part of this includes the involvement of specialist crime scene examiners.

“When we receive a report of any incident, we assess the immediate threat, harm and risk to the public and allocate officers and resources accordingly.

“We do this with full consideration of all the competing demands that we may be facing at that particular time and the assessment is then made to respond immediately, at a later time or by telephone resolution; none of these levels of response diminishes the level of investigation.”

He continued: “Over the past five years the amount of burglaries in Bolton has gone down. This is thanks to work that our partners and communities have done with the police to increase security measures in homes and we understand the need to continue this hard work to keep our communities safe.

“One burglary is one too many however, if you become a victim yourself to a burglary or any other crime, we will do all that we can to investigate and bring those responsible to justice.

“We intend to speak to the victim in this case and discuss the concerns.”