THE number of burglaries in Chingford has doubled since it emerged the police station is likely to close.

Borough Commander Steve Wisbey said in June that the station in Kings Head Hill is not needed as only 30 per cent of it is used.

Since then, according to www.police.uk, the number of burglaries in Chingford has increased from 25 in June to 50 in July.

Police recently sent a letter to residents warning of burglars posing as car buyers.

Ray Russell-Fell of the Drysdale Neighbourhood Watch said: “Residents, especially the elderly, are very worried about the increase in burglaries.

“We feel that Chingford is increasingly becoming a target to criminals since the number of police officers in Chingford police station dropped.

“We have not seen any additional measures since this increase in burglaries except for some additional police officers in Station Road, which is the busiest area."

Residents are also being told to remain vigilant following a spate of bicycle and car thefts.

Detective chief inspector Kevin Bending, of Waltham Forest Police, said on his figures there had been 66 burglaries in the E4 postcode in June, rising to 76 in July.

He denied there had been a significant increase in offences and said Chingford was still far safer than other areas of the borough.

He said: “Since a lot of the teams moved out there hasn't been a spike in burglaries overall. The main ward that stands out is Larkswood which is obviously not that near to the police station.

“We have fortnightly meetings to go through all crime figures for the whole of the borough so we can allocate resources to hotspots. While from my figures there is a slight increase Chingford is not a hotspot as such.

“Our figures show a reduction in burglaries for this year in the borough. If there's a significant increase in any part of the borough we would allocate our resources accordingly.

“While the overall footfall perhaps has gone down in the area there hasn't been a reflective increase in crime.

“There's a significant police presence in Chingford and there always will be, and there's been no reduction the number of safer neighbourhood teams.

“The figures are probably down to the warmer weather of the summer with more people leaving their windows open making it easier for opportunists to take advantage.”

A Met spokeswoman added: "The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) is reviewing the whole of the property estate to ensure we are making best use of it and identifying efficiency savings that can be reinvested into operational policing.

"The Metropolitan Police Authority has agreed the sale of a number of police buildings however Chingford police station is not currently one of them.

"There are though proposed changes to the current use of the building which has seen the movement of a large number of staff and officers away from Chingford police station into more appropriate policing facilities.

"In addition a new custody centre has just been built in Leyton which provides modern facilities for staff and officers in the Borough.

"Currently the building accommodates a reduced number of officers and therefore be far larger than is needed and is costly to run and maintain.

"Any savings which we generate from these proposed changes will go towards protecting frontline services and helping reduce the impact of the financial pressures the MPS currently faces".