Rothwell, Leeds: The Yorkshire neighbourhood which is the worst in the England for unsolved burglaries

All 165 burglaries reported in Outer Rothwell in West Yorkshire in the past three years remain unsolved, figures show. It is the highest rate in England and Wales, where police have failed to solve a single burglary in nearly half of all neighbourhoods in the past three years.

Locals in the ex pit town, which is situated just south east of Leeds and where the average house price is around £239,435, pointed to a lack of police presence.

Retired nurse Elaine Paul, 70, said: "There's just no police presence at all. Ever. There's no deterrent for them, they know nothing is going to happen."

The analysis by the Daily Telegraph comes despite police pledging to attend the scene of every domestic break-in to boost detection rates. One burglary victim in Rothwell said officers attended the house after the break-in, in which he had around £6,000 worth of goods stolen from his garage.

But he said despite crime scene investigators combing the building for clues and neighbours capturing the suspected thieves on CCTV, they were never caught.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the man told how a gang of youths broke into his garage and made off with £3,000 worth of fishing gear and a £2,500 bike.

He's since had CCTV installed on his semi-detached house and increased security measures on his gate.

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He said: "They forced my garage doors open, they stole my bikes, stole my fishing gear. A neighbour had ring doorbell footage and another neighbour had CCTV, they looked like they knew where they were going.

"Has it affected us long-term? Yes, I would say it has. I used to go out fishing quite a lot, but I probably went three times last year after the break-in. I've not replaced any of it, a) because it's a lot of money and b) because I don't want it to happen again.

"The police did send somebody round to speak to me and the crime scene guy came to take finger prints, but he couldn't get anything. I got a phone call to say they think it's a guy who had been released from prison, but I heard nothing since then.

"They were nice enough, but it doesn't get me my stuff back. I think there's a lack of funds for them and the police officers they do have are too busy doing paperwork."

Analysis shows the proportion of neighbourhoods where no burglaries were solved has risen from 46 per cent in the three years to 2021 to 48 per cent in 2021-23. Home Office figures reveal that the proportion of burglaries resulting in a charge fell to 3.9 per cent last year compared with 4.6 per cent in 2022.

A Home Office spokesman said: "Since 2010 our communities are safer, with neighbourhood crimes including burglary, robbery and theft down 48 per cent and violent crime down 51 per cent and with more police officers in England and Wales than ever before."

But in Rothwell's main street, which houses a shopping precinct blighted by anti-social behaviour, locals were unconvinced.

Elaine Paul, a grandmother-of-four, blamed the lack of police presence in the area for the figures.

She said: "There's a lot of anti-social behaviour that goes on, particularly in the precinct and the shopping centre. I've spoken to people who've experienced it personally, there's youths that have been abusive, throwing things, but there's no police presence.

"The youths that commit this anti-social behaviour, they see there's no police presence, they see no deterrent and they think they can get away with it. The local councillors just don't intervene, they don't seem to put any pressure on. It comes from the top down, look at the cuts the government have made to policing.

"They say they're recruiting more, but they've not even replaced the ones they've cut. There used to be a police station that was manned in the town, but that's shut down now. You never see a police officer, so it's no surprise they think they can do what they want."

Superintendent Jim Troisi of West Yorkshire Police said: "We recognise the huge impact that being burgled can have on people, whether that is in their homes or their workplace.

"We have made significant investment in projects to reduce burglary in West Yorkshire and these efforts have resulted in a 35.9 per cent reduction in residential burglaries and a 21.7 per cent reduction in business and community burglaries when compared to 2019.

"We are also committed to attending all home burglaries in line with recently published national guidance. Some burglaries are finalised as unsolved because of a lack of evidence or because a suspect cannot be identified.

"Our detection rates are relatively in line with other police forces in England and Wales, but we continually work to improve the quality of burglary investigations by listening to feedback from victims, looking at new and improved ways of working and training, and upskilling our officers and staff."