POLICE are warning business owners in Leigh to step up security after a spate of criminal damage and thefts.

Shops, estate agents and auction houses along London Road and the Broadway, have been targeted in the past two weeks, where thugs have smashed windows and stolen office equipment.

Crooks tried to break into Confidence hairdressers in London Road, two nights in a row, smashing a security window and the following night, breaking a catch on a front window.

Stylist Jenny Brend said: “We don’t leave anything in the salon any more. It all comes home with us.”

Thieves also stole a 40-inch plasma television from Dedman estate agents, in Leigh Road, after smashing a front window.

The television was recovered in a nearby road where police believed the crooks dumped it because they could not carry it. But they also grabbed a computer with a 30-inch monitor and a calculator.

Insp Dave Colwell, who covers Leigh said: “Criminals seem to be concentrating on commercial properties and I can’t recall there being as many as this for some time.”

Police will deliver leaflets to businesses in the area, warning them of the importance of good security, being vigilant, not putting valuable items on display and making sure the CCTV is working properly.

Other businesses targeted include Jasmin in Rectory Grove, Blue Suede Shoes in The Broadway and Stacey’s Auctions in London Road.

Anyone with any information about these incidents, which happened between July 12 and 15, can call officers at Leigh police station on 0300 3334444.