Tim Passmore makes a speech after winning the election for Suffolk Police and Crime Commissioner at the Suffolk Constabulary headquarters on Friday, 16 November.

House burglaries in Suffolk have risen to their highest level for at least three years but police last night vowed to tackle the problem with a blitz on criminals.

Figures reveal there were more than 210 domestic break-ins across Suffolk in January, compared with 180 a year earlier.

It is believed the burglars are targeting the county because of good road links which make escaping the scene easier.

Suffolk Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Tim Passmore said the increase was unacceptable and firm action to catch the thieves had been launched.

He said: “There is considerable evidence that people are travelling into Suffolk from outside the county and are largely responsible for this.”

It is believed people have been travelling in from across the border in Cambridge and even as far afield as Essex and London and some potentially prolific offenders may be involved.

Mr Passmore said a series of successful intelligence-led raids were carried out in the Forest Heath area. He added: “The large increase has been mainly in the western half of the county as opposed to the eastern half.

“We are putting more resources in and this means deploying more staff and frontline officers. There is also a lot of detective work going on.”

But the figures discussed at last week’s first PCC accountability and performance panel, also revealed a 6.6pc reduction in the number of domestic burglaries in Suffolk from April 2012 to January 2013.

There were 1,549 compared to 1,659 the previous year.

A Suffolk Police spokeswoman said: “The number of recorded burglaries in Suffolk has reduced over the past year, which is in line with overall crime for the county.

“A top priority for the force is reducing the number of burglaries being committed, and also improving on our ‘solved rate’ for these offences.

“We have a dedicated action plan and a force-wide operation, named Operation Drawbridge, in place, with the aim of preventing and detecting these crimes.”