PRESTON police have made an appeal to businesses in the town to be on their guard for burglars sneaking in their premises after a spate of opportunist thefts.

McDonald's, Clinton Cards and the University of Central Lancashire are just some of the places targeted by the crafty thieves.

Inspector Warren Turner, in charge of policing the town centre, is worried that the trend could get out of hand.

He said: "In the past four weeks over 20 crimes have taken place at businesses in the centre of Preston.

"A succession of offences at shops is particular unusual and we are determined to clamp down on these offenders straight away."

Although only 20 burglaries have taken place, Mr Turner said there has been many more attempts. "We have had a number of reports of young lads wandering in to businesses and looking for valuables," he said: "If they are spotted, they make excuses like they have lost a friend or they needed the toilet.

"These people should be caught immediately - so I would like Citizen readers to be on their guard and report any suspicious incidents to us."

He added that the majority of these crimes have happened on a Friday or Saturday: "Although the crimes do happen on most days I'd like to point out that they usually do take place as the weekend gets nearer."

Anyone wanting to report an incident, or who has seen someone acting suspiciously, should call Preston police on 01772-203203.

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