People enjoying the glorious summer weather are being warned to be vigilant with burglars targeting homes with open windows.

Police say there have been a spate of burglaries across Hertsmere, with five in Borehamwood, one in Bushey, and two in Potters Bar, between June 25 and July 8.

Between 5pm and 10.30pm on June 25, power tools were stolen from a property in Belmor, Elstree while on June 19, a Nintendo DS and £50 was stolen from a room in the Travelodge hotel in Studio Way.

At 12.30am on June 26, three people tried to kick down a front door in Manor Way in Borehamwood but were unsuccessful and fled in a car from Cleveland Crescent.

Tools were stolen from a house in Whitehouse Avenue, Borehamwood, at 8am on July 4.

Meanwhile in Bushey, burglars climbed onto a garage roof and removed beading from a glass door to get into a property on June 29.

And in Potters Bar, two men tried to force open a front window in Park Avenue between 2.40pm and 3pm but were spooked by an alarm and ran to a getaway car in Southgate Road which was driven by a third man.

A house in Forbes Avenue was broken into on July 5 via a shed roof. A man known to the homeowners has been bailed pending further enquiries.

Hertsmere Detective Inspector Graeme Walsingham says that people are ensuring ground floor windows and doors are locked but cunning burglars are instead looking at ways of getting into houses from a higher level.

He said: “We can beat the burglar by closing all windows and doors, setting alarms on both floors of homes, investing in web cam CCTV security and by being a good neighbour. Burglars use flat roofs to gain access to upstairs windows and can be quite nimble, getting to windows that people may think are inaccessible.

“The burglaries are happening during the day and evenings.

“Please call us on 999 if you suspect a burglary or theft is in progress. If reporting retrospectively, please call police on 101.”