POLICE should “bring their tin hats” when they meet frustrated residents on Thursday night.

A public meeting has been called at 7pm by Western ward councillor Des Moffatt in the wake of what he calls a spate of burglaries and vandalism attacks.

He said there has been an upsurge in the last six months in attacks on cars, gardens and garages, and said the meeting will let residents air their grievances.

Coun Moffatt (Lab) said: “They want to recruit as much support as possible as they can in the community to identify the people responsible.

“We’ve had a general spate of break-ins and burglaries around the place. It’s been going on for the best part of six months. It’s a combination of vandalism and theft.

“There’ll be other issues discussed at the meeting, but from the police’s point of view they want to encourage an awareness of crime, and see if they can collect any useful local knowledge.

“One of the phrases I used when emailing the police was: bring your tin hats. I’m expecting they’ll come under pressure.”

Around 50-plus residents are expected at the meeting.

The meeting will be in the Western Community Centre in Somerset Road.

Fellow Labour ward councillor Kevin Small also weighed in, saying: “There is going to be a level of frustration at the meeting.

“The whole point of having it is to give them an opportunity to express their concerns.

“We want reassurance from police that things are being taken in hand and this spate of burglaries is being investigated.”

The burglaries seem to be especially targeting the garages at the back of Ferndale Road.

The Adver is aware of one woman whose car was burned out in the early hours of Monday morning, when someone set fire to her garage.

One resident, panel beater Tim Carver, aged 53 and of Ferndale Road himself, knows first hand what it’s like.

He said his next door neighbour’s garage had been attacked the same night, and his own was burned in April.

He said: “About a month ago I woke up, and the fire brigade were out the front. I went and had a look out the back, and my garage roof was on fire.

“There’s a spate of it, and the council needs to do something about it.

“To be honest I think it’s opportunism, people coming back from the pub and either pinching stuff or just being a nuisance.”

He said he will try to make it to the meeting if he can.

Among those in attendance will be PCSO Julian Santiago Gain Randall-Stratton.

He said the problem seemed to be worse than usual at the moment, and that officers are putting on extra patrols in the area to try to curb it.

He said: “A lot of residents don’t report these crimes, and we don’t find out until it’s too late.

“We need to make sure people tell us when these things happen. The longer they leave it the less chance there is of getting any forensics, if there was any chance in the first place.”

Asked what is behind the increase, he said: “The fact people are finding it harder financially currently isn’t helping. Some people think they don’t have anywhere else to turn.”