Criminals are making hay while the sun shines by taking advantage of unlocked doors and windows.

Police in Aireborough and Wharfedale say opportunist thieves have been making the most of the sunny weather by letting themselves in to unlocked homes.

Writing on the NPT website Inspector Richard Coldwell urged people to make sure their homes were secure and their vehicles locked.

He said the sunny weather meant people were going to bed and leaving their downstairs windows open or sitting in the garden and leaving their doors unlocked.

“Although we live in a low-crime area with burglaries below the national average and amongst the lowest in West Yorkshire, roughly 50 per cent of our burglaries at the minute aren't break-ins because the thief has entered through an open door or window,” he said.

“Even more surprising, we have had a spate of vehicle crime in the Horsforth area and 80 per cent of these have been unlocked cars – unlocked cars in which the owner has left valuable items like a sat nav, digital camera or MP3 player, often in full view.”