Wrexham's Police inspector has warned residents of an expected increase in burglaries this winter. 

In his latest police update, Inspector Luke Hughes of Wrexham City police discussed 'twilight burglaries' - a trend of domestic thefts that increases in the darker months. 

Inspector Hughes said: "Sadly, with the darker nights come seasonal crime trends, and one thing I can almost guarantee is that this time of year brings an increase in domestic burglaries. 

"It is this time of year that the criminal element of society takes advantage of properties that remain in darkness whilst the occupant is out, and the house tells them that at a distance.

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"Most of the time these offences are opportunistic, although on occasion targeted and sadly on occasion result in repeat victims. Each year we run a dedicated operation to address this predicted demand.

"Locally, we refer to this as Operation Blue Instinct, and this was set up by our own Sergeant David Smith - who will sadly be leaving us soon. But the operation will be his legacy and it has already led to a significant reduction in offences when compared to where we were a few years ago.

"My simple advice is, install CCTV, make this viable but out of reach - video doorbells are fantastic, get one if you can. Improve lighting and have automatic lighting if possible.

"If in doubt pop into the cop shop and have a chat to the staff - at present we are open every Friday and Saturday afternoon, and then periodically through the week when staffing allows."