A STUNNED burglary victim was told by police to conduct his own investigation after his daughter’s bike was stolen.

William Hagerup’s 15-year-old daughter discovered the lock on their shed had been cut open and her mountain bike had been swiped on Monday morning.

Mr Hagerup called police to report the raid in Radvald Chase, Stanway, and noticed that a neighbouring shed had also been burgled.

But he was told no officers would be attending the property.

“They actually asked me what I wanted them to do,” he said.

“I told them I would like them to come and look around, perhaps see if there were similarities with any other break ins and ask my neighbours if they saw anything suspicious.

“It was suggested I go and ask my neighbours myself and try and find out what happened.

“At the very least, it would be reassuring for people to see they were taking it seriously.

“But they said it was being taken seriously by them recording it.”

Mr Hagerup, 47, added: “I know it is not the most serious things - but you would think that is one of the functions of the police.

“If they know it won’t be investigated is it just giving them the green light to try and steal even more knowing they may well get away with it?”

An Essex Police spokesman said burglary was a difficult crime to solve without CCTV, witnesses or forensic opportunities.

“This means solved rates – which indicate where we’ve been able to identify a suspect – can be quite low,” he said.

“This is not just an issue here but elsewhere across the country.

"However, we’ve actually seen more burglaries cases solved with 11 percent more break-ins solved than during the previous 12 months.

"In Essex, the likelihood of being a victim is actually really low and the number of reported burglaries has fallen.

"In the 12 months to the end January this year, there were more than 1,500 fewer burglaries overall.

"That means nearly three fewer homes are being broken into every day.

"Fewer than six people in every 1,000 living in Essex experienced a burglary in the last year highlighting the fact that you’re really unlikely to be a victim of one and less likely than the national average.

“We encourage residents to check if there are some simple precautions they can take to secure their property to deter burglars.”

Visit essex.police.uk/letstalk for more information.