Police in Farnborough are appealing for witnesses following a burglary in the town between Saturday, December 20 and Monday, December 22.  

Sometime between 2.30pm on the Saturday and 4.30pm on the Monday an address in Hazel Avenue was broken into after one of the patio doors was forced open.  

A number of items were then stolen from the home including two jewellery boxes containing jewellery worth more than £10,000, Christmas presents and around £250.  

PC Louise Hill, of the Farnborough Targeted Patrol Team, said: "We are appealing to members of the public to help us with this investigation.  

"We would ask anyone who saw anything suspicious in Hazel Avenue at the time to contact police as soon as possible."  

Hampshire Constabulary offers the following Safer Homes advice:  

• Keep valuable items out of view - if you have electrical equipment worth hundreds of pounds, don't keep it by the window where passers-by can see it.
• Never leave a key under a doormat or on a string through the letterbox - it's the first place any burglar will look.
• Make sure tools and ladders are kept in a secure place - burglars will happily use your own garden equipment to break into your home.
• If you've taken extra security precautions, let would-be burglars know. If you have an alarm, make sure the box can be clearly seen. If you take part in a Neighbourhood Watch scheme, display a sticker in your window, and if you have a dog, put up a warning sign.
• Hide financial documents and keys - if someone does break in you don't want them to also steal from your bank account or take your car.
• Make sure you secure all your doors and windows every time you leave the house, even if you are 'just popping out'.
• If you are in the garden or upstairs, make sure your downstairs doors are locked - in the summer burglars can often just open the front door and help themselves.
• Deadlock your doors with the key - don't just lift up the handle.
• Make use of all door and window locks fitted in your home.
• Consider getting a letter box deflector.
• Keep house keys upstairs or store them near the door out of sight for easy access in an emergency.
• Keep your car keys away from the front door and store them somewhere safe.
• Keep handbags out of sight.

For more information about policing in your area visit the local policing pages of Hampshire Constabulary at www.hampshire.police.uk.