WOULD-be thieves were warned they would be stopped after police carried out a major one-day operation on Tuesday.

More than 60 officers gathered outside Accrington Town Hall where they were briefed by Chief Insp Damian Darcy who led the operation.

Members of the public watched the operation which also aimed to reassure the public that officers are working hard during the summer months.

Chief Insp Darcy said: "Today’s operation is not just about facing criminals and tackling crime, but reassuring the public we will not tolerate crime of any kind.

"Burglary levels are at the lowest level they have been at in three years, but we want to see these figures continue to go down."

Members of the Neighbourhood Policing Team, mounted police and the dog handling unit all took part.

Police visited suspects living in Accrington town centre, Woodnook, Peel, Barnfield and Clayton-le-Moors.

Between 1 July and 7 July, police in Hyndburn visited 150 burglary suspects and warned them about their actions, 12 people were arrested on suspicion of burglary and four search warrants were carried out as part of Operation Julius.

Police also participated in similar public events in Blackburn and Darwen. In fact, 1,100 burglary suspects have been stopped by police since the beginning of the month in East Lancashire.

Supt Chris Bithell said: "I am very pleased with all the activity that has been carried out so far but this is just the start and we will continue to focus our activities on those people who persistently commit burglary offences so that we can reduce even further the number of victims affected by these crimes."