Dulwich tops list of worst place in UK for burglaries – but London dominates with 16 of top 20
Dulwich might be one of the most desirable places to live in south London, but the leafy former home of Margaret Thatcher has just been named the worst place in the country for burglary.
The postcode SE21, which includes Dulwich and South Tulse Hill, has had the highest number of claims of theft of contents from people's homes in the last five years, according to Moneysupermarket. Research shows that 61.2 claims were made out of 1,000 quotes.
In fact London dominates the top 20, taking 16 of the top spots – the majority of which are in east London. Clayhall (IG5), Redbridge (IG4) and Gants Hill (IG2) follow Dulwich, while affluent North Kensington (W10) also appears in the top 20, as do north London suburbs Whetstone (N20), Cockfosters (EN4) and New Southgate (N11).
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West Bromwich is the highest scoring postcode outside of London.
Amazingly, there are actually 83 postal districts with no recorded claims for theft in the last five years.
And of those that have done, Harbury, near Leamington Spa (CV33), has seen the lowest rate of crime, with 0.7 claims per 1,000 quotes.
Wiltshire’s Amesbury and Durrington (SP4), famous for the heritage site Stonehenge, also features, with a rate of 1.2 claims per 1,000 quotes, alongside the Welsh university town Aberystwyth (SY23) and rural Abercraf (SA9).
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Kevin Pratt, consumer affairs expert at Moneysupermarket, said: “Burglars have two thoughts uppermost in their minds: where am I most likely to find something worth stealing and where am I least likely to get caught?
“Our findings suggest thieves favour busy urban areas where strangers are unlikely to be spotted and it’s easy to make a quick getaway. But leafy suburbs are also heavily targeted, with burglars following the money to affluent areas."