Burglaries have returned to pre-lockdown levels in Norfolk after collapsing during lockdown.

Victims reported 265 break-ins in August this year, more than the total reported in February and March - and the highest number since January.

But figures suggest burglars are likely to get away with their crimes, with fewer than 10pc of burglaries solved across both counties since the start of last year.

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Of the 10,093 break-ins recorded by Norfolk and Suffolk police since January 2019, 746 have been solved.

Norfolk detectives were unable to identify a suspect in nearly 70pc of the 4,828 cases reported across the county.

A map of every burglary in Norfolk since January 2019, compiled by this newspaper, shows hotspots around Norwich and large towns, such as King’s Lynn and Great Yarmouth.

Norwich saw twice the amount of burglaries as any other area, but police figures suggest solve rates are similar across rural and urban settings, as well as across richer and poorer neighbourhoods.

Figures show there have been 320 fewer burglaries across Norfolk between January and August this year, compared to the same eight months last year, as the coronavirus crisis kept people in their homes.

But of the 401 burglary cases solved since the start of last year, only 17 offenders went to prison or received a suspended sentence.

A further 29 were either ordered to pay compensation to their victims or were dealt with through community orders, cautions or local resolutions. Eight offenders were referred to other groups for action to be taken.

On Monday October 5, a burglar made off with jewellery, watches, a laptop, a safe and a wallet containing cash and cards after smashing the window of a house in the Beetley area of Breckland.

In another Breckland case, gold and silver jewellery was also stolen from a home in Watton on September 14 after a thief broke in between 9am and midday.

And a few days later, on September 19 in East Harling, near Thetford, a man stole cash and jewellery from a home after using a ladder to climb through a first-floor window in broad daylight.

A police spokesman said: “Our priority has and will always be to catch those responsible and we’re constantly adapting our tactics and deploying a range of resources - specialist investigators, scenes of crime specialists and drone technology - to solve these crimes. “Clearly our ability to solve burglaries and, indeed, any type of crime, depends on the evidential opportunities available. These cases can be difficult to solve and some suspects are aware of the tactics we use in relation to forensics.”

They added: “Unsolved burglaries are often ones where homes have been left insecure, where a suspect has reached through an open window and stolen items. “In our experience, suspects are often responsible for committing more than one burglary but may not choose to admit this until they are in prison awaiting sentencing. Unfortunately, it is not as easy for officers to visit prisons under pandemic conditions and as such we are not seeing as many of these admissions.”