BUCKHURST Hill is now one of the worst areas in Essex for burglary and vehicle crime after a sharp rise in offences.

Vehicle crime is up 19.3 per cent compared to last year while burglary is up 16.7 per cent. In both categories Buckhurst Hill is the worst ward in the Epping Forest District.

The problem seems to have increased over the summer months. In June this year there were 16 vehicle related crimes in Buckhurst Hill- more than double last year's total of seven.

There were 22 burglaries in June compared to 12 in the same month of 2008.

Lisa Fry, 19, of Devon Close, Buckhurst Hill, has had her car broken into twice within a year.

She said: "I got broken into with my first car and then my second car got the bumper stolen and the grill, and that was in a tiny close where old people live.

“Maybe it's because there's a lot of people with money here. The first time it happened I think it was just kids but the second time when I spoke to the police they said it had been happening quite a lot with people stealing bumpers.

“There's not much you can do. Maybe CCTV, but you can't have cameras on every lamppost.”

Buckhurst Hill Residents Society chairman Tony Oliva blamed inconsistency in policing for the failure to clamp down on the crime level.

He said: “We seem to experience a constant change of commanders and ways of policing the area with initiative after initiative. Now we have got a recession on with lots of people allegedly coming into the area from outside committing burglaries. There doesn't appear to be an effective strategy to counter this.”

Mr Oliva was himself a victim of crime recently when the glass next to his front door was smashed during an attempted break-in.

He said: “It's fairly shocking if Essex Police don't seem to be able to generate measures to address this. If we are among the worst in the county they should be targeting this area. The fact the police are failing to keep a lid on this suggests they need a new strategy.”

District Commander Chief Inspector Alan Ray said: “It is a concern that burglary has gone up nationally. In the Epping Forest District we are running Operation Phobia specially designed to target burglary offenders which has resulted in a significant number of arrests of people committing this type of crime.

“The Metropolitan Police are experiencing a far greater increase in crime. However, over all crime in the Epping Forest District area has reduced , but we are not complacent. Burglary will remain a high priority for my officers and we ask local residents to ensure they are doing all they can by locking windows and doors when leaving any room unattended for any period of time, and remember not to leave car keys in obvious places.”