POLICE will be using the long arm of the law to tackle burglaries in East Lancashire.

Life-size pictures of a burglar’s arm are to be posted through insecure or unlocked homes which are found by police on foot patrol.

When they find a home that could be broken into, the house holder will be alerted with the arm poster as part of a new operation.

Officers will be patrolling neighbourhoods throughout East Lancashire at all times of the day and night looking for open doors and windows and

target="_blank">homes which have left high price property on view or in reach.

Officers will then leave a leaflet in the shape of a burglar’s arm, with the message, ‘Keep it safe, keep it hidden, keep it locked’.

Police will also be posting footprint shaped leaflets displaying the message ‘…the next footprint you see could belong to a burglar.’ The patrols are part of Operation Julius, a high profile campaign which will run throughout July, aiming to reduce burglaries in Lancashire.

Chief Inspector Damian Darcy, who is leading the operation in Eastern Division, said: “I want to reassure people that burglary in Lancashire is at its lowest in 35 years and we want to keep it that way.

"But householders have a crucial part to play to not make it easy for thieves to operate.

“In the summer months and particularly due to the very warm weather, we know that people have a tendency to leave windows and doors open, leaving them vulnerable to burglars.

“Open doors and windows are open invitations to a burglar. In over a third of all burglaries, thieves don’t have to break in because people have left windows and doors unlocked.

“These leaflets are designed to make people stop and think about how to protect their homes by taking a very few simple steps including making sure that windows and doors are closed and locked throughout the night.”

The first phase of Operation Julius this week saw top cops pay personal visits to East Lancashire’s most prolific burglars.

Five of the most persistent burglars were given warn-ing letters that police were watching them.