HOUSEHOLDERS in Darwen and surrounding areas are being warned by the police to remove keys from their doors after burglars broke into a house by pulling the keys through the letter box on a hook.

The incident happened in Edgworth Vale, Turton, between 12.15am and 6.55am on Tuesday.

The thief looked through the letter box of the house and saw a set of keys on the floor behind the door and used a hook or something similar to pull the keys through the gap.

DC Mussarat Khan, of Darwen CID, said: "Unfortunately the car keys were attached to the bunch as well.

"There was a blue Volvo Passat parked in the driveway, registration MJ51 RUH, which he drove off in.

"At some stage he has gone back to the house and, using the keys, he has then taken a silver BMW with the registration X68 SCC."

Other items including credit cards, a rucksack and surveyor's equipment worth £2,500 were also stolen."