One-in-four people who have been burgled have had their homes targeted again, a Victim Support survey suggests. One man tells of his experiences.
Hugh, 62, had "popped out for an hour or two" for lunch only to return to his west London flat to find the front door ajar. The Mortis lock had been removed.
"It must have been kicked out with such force," he said.
Hugh said that his neighbours and visitors occasionally left the main door to the block of flats open and burglars must have seized an opportunity to break in.
Hugh had suffered two burglaries elsewhere during the 1970s but was left particularly shaken by this incident in September 2004.
"If anything I had become quite complacent and didn't think anything like that would happen, I found it devastating," he said.
"Sometimes it's difficult to go to friends and family about such things"
The main item stolen was a medium format camera worth around £1,600.
"It meant I wasn't able to carry on with a scenic project I'd been doing, at the time I felt like my very existence was being threatened," he said.
Hugh, who lives alone in a rented ground floor flat, said he was left "very unsettled" by the burglary.
One problem was that it took a while for a new lock to be put in as the owners of the property sorted things out with the freeholder.
Hugh said Victim Support helped with this issue and liaised with the council which provided window locks and a bar for the front door.
The charity also gave him some emotional support.
"Sometimes it's difficult to go to friends and family about such things as they don't always know what to say or to advise," he said.
Time-consuming
He found it also took time to sort things out, including several months to replace his camera.
"One of the problems with being burgled is the colossal amount of time expended trying to get things straight; in filling in insurance forms and seeing police - it's very time-consuming," he said.
Being retired, he was able to find this time, but he imagined it would be far worse for people out working all day.
Hugh moved on from the burglary and returned to his various projects and other aspects of his life.
However, 13 months later he returned from a holiday to find his home had again been targeted by burglars.
'Hide away'
"It was very similar to the first time," he said. "But I was away on holiday and had taken my medium format camera which I had replaced.
"I remember putting the key in the lock and when it didn't engage I realised what had happened.
"I didn't feel as bad as I did the first time, but I still felt pretty awful."
During the second burglary he lost camera equipment and an antique carving - a present from his great aunt.
"It might have been the same person as before, I have no idea. It could have been somebody alone, or with others - I just don't know," he said.
He said police had told him those who carried out the crime were likely to be addicted to drugs. No-one has yet been caught.
Hugh said the experiences had made him want to "hide away" any valuable items.
"I suppose I have become more aware and hide valuable things out of view, in the hope that if someone breaks in again they wouldn't get to them," he said.
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