New figures have revealed which areas of East Lancashire are burglary hotspots, with homeowners advised on how to best protect their property.

The data, collated by Money Supermarket, has looked at more than seven million home insurance quotes from its customers to find the postcode areas in the UK with the highest and lowest rates of burglary claims since 2020.

The worst affected area in East Lancashire, according to the figures, is the BL7 postcode, which covers Belmont, Edgworth, Egerton, and Turton.

Here, the number of burglary insurance claims per 1,000 quotes since 2020 was 23.45, with residents here having a 2.35 per cent of being burgled.

Second on the list was the BB11 postcode, encompassing Burnley town centre, Hapton, and Towneley Park, with a rate of 22.6 claims, meaning people have a 2.26 per cent change of burglary.

At the other end of the scale, the safest part of East Lancashire is BB9, covering Nelson, Barrowford, Blacko, Brierfield and Roughlee, with only three claims per 1,000 quotes; just a 0.3 per cent chance of being burgled.

The second safest area from burglary according to Money Supermarket is BB1, with just 3.5 claims per 1,000 quotes and a 0.35 per cent change of being burgled.

BB1 covers part of Blackburn town centre, along with Shadsworth, Whitebirk, Wilpshire, Rishton, Clayton-le-Dale, Mellor, Knuzden, Guide, Belthorn and Ramsgreave.

Across the whole of East Lancashire, the average number of burglary claims per 1,000 quotes is 9.08, meaning on average householders have a less than one per cent chance of being burgled.

While BL7 is the worst affected part of East Lancashire, it’s nowhere close to the worst part of the country, ranked at the 223rd worst hit postcode out of 2,377.

The worst area is B94 – covering Solihull near Birmingham, with 57.83 burglaries per 1,000 quotes, more than double the rate in BL7.

Second worst is SE24 in London with a rate of 57.01, followed by WL7 in Hertfordshire at 54.27, SS14, covering Basildon in Essex at 52.65, and then E9, which encompasses Hackney and Homerton in London, at 51.7.

The safest part of the country is in Cambridgeshire, where the PE15 postcode has a rate of 0.28 claims per 1,000 quotes, followed by SY23, covering Aberystwyth in West Wales at 0.34, and CA1 in Carlisle and BT53 in Northern Ireland both on 0.36.

Money Supermarket said: “Being burgled is a deeply unpleasant experience, and while a good home insurance policy can minimise any financial losses, knowing that a stranger has been rummaging through your things can leave you feeling unsafe in your own home.

“Burglaries are generally considered to be crimes of opportunity with offenders looking to take advantage of the most unsecured homes.

“While there are practical steps you can take to better protect your property, such as fitting an alarm or video doorbells, some areas are simply more at risk of being burgled than others.”

Money and savings expert Katie Hughes added: “The startling thing about these hotspots is the difference between the chances of being burgled in different places around the country.

“But, the behaviours and changes that we make to reduce the chances of becoming a victim and having to make a claim are the same across the country regardless of what’s going on in the wider world.”