POLICE are monitoring routes in and out of Ilkley for criminals following 13 house burglaries last month.

Residents are being asked to make sure their homes are secure – and to report anything suspicious to the police – after the unusually high number of house break-ins for the town during January.

And businesses including a Skipton Road hair salon have also been targeted by thieves. Owner of Infinity Hairdressing, Cathy Brown, was saddened by the theft of a collection box for social enterprise outside the Box Cafe during a burglary at her business premises late on Friday night or early on Saturday morning.

She said: “To me, stealing from a well deserved charity is the lowest of the low. My clients and staff have always been very generous with their support and it is likely there will have been a decent amount in there.”

The emptied box, and other items taken from the salon, were found dumped near Ilkley Bowling Club.

Neighbourhood inspector Sue Sanderson this week revealed there had been a total of 42 crimes in Ilkley last month, higher than the figure for the same period last year. Among these were 13 house burglaries, including break-ins where Europrofile-type locks were smashed, and sneak-in burglaries, in which thieves grabbed the keys for the occupants’ cars and then took the cars from outside.

She said there were a number of people now in the criminal justice system in relation to some of these offences, but inquiries were ongoing.

Insp Sanderson said: “We have extra officers, not only from my team, but also from other parts of the force, coming to Ilkley, and also the boundary roads, both the Leeds and Bradford side, and Keighley, trying to catch the people responsible coming in and out of Ilkley.”

Insp Sanderson repeated advice to residents to make sure their doors and windows are locked, even when at home. Ilkley parish councillors quizzed Insp Sanderson on Monday night about staffing at Ilkley Police Station, and the numbers of officers based in the town. She said it was rare for officers on patrol to come across a burglary in progress.