BURGLARY victims in the borough are being denied access to vital post-crime support services because of a lack of resources.

Last year alone a total of 411,095 cases of burglary were referred to the nationwide charity Victim Support with only a third of victims personally contacted by volunteers offering help and reassurance.

With more than half the population considered to be "fairly or very" worried about burglary crimes, the Victim Support charity is making an urgent appeal for additional funding to enable the organisation to deliver a greater level of personal support to burglary victims.

In Bury, more than 2,500 cases of burglary were referred to the local branch of Victim Support.

Jane Sacks, district manager of Victim Support Bury Metro, said: "At long last the criminal justice system is giving victims and witnesses the attention they deserve as cases progress through the system.

"However, in 85 per cent of burglary cases the offender is never caught and the victims of these crimes also need to be heard. "Every day our volunteers contact many people in acute distress but, due to limited resources, we are not able to provide the levels of support we would like."

"We want to be able to offer more victims that vital phone call or personal visit so that we can identify and respond to their problems quickly."