Middlesbrough tops the list as the UK’s burglary hotspot, according to research by InsureMy.

The online specialist insurance brokers analysed burglaries per 1,000 people from January 2022 to March 2023 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to find out which places are the most and least burgled.

The study found that Middlesbrough recorded the most break-ins during this period, with a burglary rate of 11.45, the highest in the UK.

London spotlight

London boroughs make up nearly half of the top 10, Westminster came in second, with a burglary rate of 10.85 per 1,000 residents.

Leeds ranks third in the most burgled places, with a rate of 8.86 per 1,000 residents and Birmingham came fourth with 8.35 per 1,000.

Hull came in fifth with a burglary rate of 8.26 per 1,000 people.

The top 10 was completed by Southwark in London, Sheffield, the London borough of Hackney, Wolverhampton and London’s Camden.

A spokesperson for InsureMy said: “While these findings may be alarming for those residing in the top 10 cities, it’s imperative to know the risks we face where we live.

“People living in these places may feel it necessary to upgrade their home security measures and to ensure their insurance can protect them, their assets, and their belongings.”

Safest places

InsureMy also found out which areas that are the safest, based on its analysis.

It said that Plymouth, Swindon, and Norwich are the safest three places in the UK, with burglaries in all of these towns coming in at fewer than three per 1,000 residents.

Overall, police forces in England, Wales and Northern Ireland recorded 250,690 burglaries in 2022 – a 7% increase from the previous year’s figure of 235,280.

The average number of reported burglaries in 2022 was 4.2 per 1,000 people, compared to 3.9 in 2021.