by Hayley Robinson

A burglary victim is calling for more police on the streets to reduce the number of break-ins in Sittingbourne.

Ross Richardson claims his home in Tourmaline Drive is one of more than 20 properties on Sonora Fields to be targeted in the last three months.

He only realised he was a victim when officers were called to a break-in of his neighbour’s garage on December 10 and he was asked to check his.

Items totalling £2,000 had been taken and included a hybrid bike, golf clubs, power tools, champagne and other alcoholic drinks.

The married dad-of-two didn’t just add security features to his property following the theft, he went one step further by setting up the group ‘Sonora Fields on Facebook’ in a bid to communicate with other residents about the problem.

A letter has also been sent to MP Gordon Henderson urging him to join the group in the hope he will put pressure on Kent police.

Also he and his wife Nicola are in the process of starting a Neighbourhood Watch scheme.

They have been in discussions with group members about the possibility of each resident contributing towards the cost of a private security firm to patrol the area at night.

For the last eight weeks, the News Extra/Sittingbourne Messenger have been reporting on a spike in the number of burglaries and attempted break-ins carried out in the town.

To date 114 have been brought to the papers' attention.

Mr Richardson, 34, said: “As a result of the group I have been in contact with numerous residents who have suffered burglaries and as a community we are sharing our knowledge and taking measures to reduce the growing trend.

“What we’re trying to do is urge people to call the Kent police non-emergency number 101 to report anything suspicious.

“If we put pressure on the police hopefully we’ll start seeing more officers out and about.

“I want Mr Henderson to join the group to keep abreast of the issues concerning residents and for him to press for additional policing resources on the streets to tackle this issue.

“We all work hard to provide for our families and we want them to feel safe.”

A spokesman for the MP said: “Mr Henderson supports Mr Richardson’s cause and has written a letter to him suggesting a street meeting for residents, councillors, Mr Henderson and local PCSOs to attend to discuss the matter.”

A Kent Police spokesman said: “We are taking the on-going issues of burglaries in Sittingbourne extremely seriously and are making every effort to ensure residents feel safe in their own homes and we are increasing patrols and visible policing in the Sittingbourne area.

“Much of the work going on around these burglaries is covert and details cannot be released for operational reasons.

“Residents should rest assured we are working constantly behind the scenes to tackle the issue and have made significant progress.”

For details of the latest break-ins, see this week's newspaper edition - out in shops across the town.