Burglary Hotspots: Do You Live In One?

The UK's worst burglary hotspot are revealed by new analysis of insurance claims.

Among them are Manchester and West Yorkshire - with concentrations also in Wales and Scotland.

But it is Essex and East London which head the Burglary Claims Tracker list, and Greater London is the burglary capital.

The area with the highest rate of burglary insurance claims last year was the RM8 postcode in the east London suburb of Dagenham, according to the figures compiled by MoneySuperMarket.

Those living in and around the capital are most likely to suffer break-ins, the study found, with 14 of the top 20 postcodes in London and Greater London.

Kevin Pratt, home insurance expert at MoneySuperMarket, said: "The research reveals Dagenham is the UK's top burglary hotspot, with a rate of 55 out of every 1,000 insurance quotes having made a claim in the past two years.

"Burglars often target urban areas where there's more hustle and bustle and so less risk of being caught, but not surprisingly they also follow the money, which is why affluent areas such as Teddington and Temple Newsam in West Yorkshire appear."

Manchester's M21 postcode, on the outskirts of the city, dropped from top spot last year to third position.

Woodford and South Woodford (E18) in east London is the postcode with the fifth highest number of claims, while London's sought-after suburbs of Teddington and Bushy Park (TW11) also feature in the top 10.

Among the areas with the lowest proportion of burglary claims are postcodes in rural Scotland's Dumfries (DG1) and Lochee (DD2), Felixstowe in Suffolk (IP11) and North Wales's university town of Bangor (LL57).

Those living in the seaside resort of Bognor Regis (PO22) can also feel secure, with a rate of 1.63 per 1,000 and Northern Ireland's Londonderry (BT48), with just 1.36 per 1,000 insurance quotes showing a claim.

The top 10 postcodes named in the research are:

1. RM8 - Dagenham, Becontree, Becontree Heath, in Greater London

2. IG2 - Gants Hill, Newbury Park, Aldborough Hatch, in Greater London

3. M21 - Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Barlow Moor, in Manchester

4. DN2 - Intake, Wheatley, Wheatley Hills, in South Yorkshire

5. E18 - Woodford and South Woodford, in London

6. RM11 - Hornchurch, Emerson Park, Ardleigh Green, in Greater London

7. TW11 - Teddington, Fulwell, Bushy Park, in Greater London

8. BD2 - Eccleshill, Five Lane Ends, parts of Undercliffe, Fagley, Wrose, Bolton Woods, Poplars Farm, Swain House, Ashbourne, in West Yorkshire