Desirable Dulwich and Tulse Hill in South London (SE21) bag the top spot for the number of theft claims, according to MoneySuperMarket research which looked at data spanning a five-year period.

It had a rate of 61.2 claims per 1,000 quotes and Manchester (M21), Leeds (LS5) and Milton Keynes (MK46) also feature in the top 20.

At the other end of the scale, there are 83 postal districts with no recorded claims for theft from the home.

These include Harbury, near Leamington Spa (CV33) with 0.7 claims per 1,000 quotes, along with Wiltshire’s Amesbury and Durrington (SP4) and the Welsh university town off Aberystwyth (SY23) and Abercraf (SA9) with a rate of 1.2 claims per 1,000 quotes.

Top tips to keep your home safe:

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These are MoneySupermarket’s five top tips:

1. Always keep doors and windows locked when your home is unoccupied, and when you’re asleep at night
2. Install timers on your lights so they come on at night when you’re not home
3. Ensure items of value are kept away from easy view through windows and don’t leave house or car keys where they can be reached through a letterbox
4. Install and use a suitable alarm system and join a Neighbourhood Watch scheme
5. Ensure your home contents insurance is fully up to date and provides enough cover for all your belongings

Shop around at renewal time

Kevin Pratt, consumer affairs expert at MoneySuperMarket, said: “Burglars have two thoughts uppermost in their minds: where am I most likely to find something worth stealing and where am I least likely to get caught?

“Our findings suggest thieves favour busy urban areas where strangers are unlikely to be spotted and it’s easy to make a quick getaway. But leafy suburbs are also heavily targeted, with burglars following the money to affluent areas.”

He adds that the average cost of combined buildings and contents cover is £110 but urges consumers to shop around at renewal time as anyone’s who’s not switched for a number of years will probably be paying substantially more.

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