LADYBRIDGE residents have voiced their concerns to police that more should be done to protect their area from burglars.

Residents expressed their concerns to police officers at a meeting at Ladybridge Community Centre tonight.

Around 50 people turned up to the meeting, which was arranged after a spate of burglaries in the area over the past 12 months, to demand assurances from officers about protecting the area.

The meeting heard that some residents were now so afraid of being burgled that they worried about leaving their homes.

One resident, Munira Patel, who has been burgled herself, told the meeting: “I feel like a prisoner in my own home. When we are burgled we are deprived of our peace of mind.

“I feel afraid because I have a young family. If I go out then I have to leave our car on the drive so people think we are in."

The meeting also heard that a number of residents had decided to install cameras and alarms in order to deter burglars.

However, it was suggested that more cameras should be fitted in the area in general to improve security.

Concerns about police responses to reports of burglaries were also expressed, with some saying they had stopped reporting incidents after not being visited by an officer following previous incidents.

A male resident told the meeting: “My property has been broken into twice within a week and nobody has been to see me.”

Police defended themselves by blaming cuts, and urged residents to take their concerns up with their superiors.

PC David Heald said: “I’m not going to sit here and say we are doing proactive work, because we’re not. The funding is not there from the government.

"I’m frustrated too, but we are doing our best.

"It’s not that we don’t want to come out, but we have such a large workload that we are going out to what we are told to.”

Heaton & Lostock councillor Andy Morgan attended the meeting and said he ‘didn’t realise the extent of the issue’ before the meeting.

He promised to ask the council for funding to install CCTV cameras in the area.

Following the meeting, a number of residents said they were dissatisfied with the evening’s outcome.

Ms Patel said: “I don’t feel as if any action is going to be taken. We’ve not got a message that something is going to be done. It’s been left open.

“If there was a police presence it would reassure people and send a message out. We need permanent long-term solutions, and I don’t think it should have to be down to residents to keep buying CCTV and alarms.

“If the police, council and residents all come together and say we are not going to let this happen, then we can stop it.”