10 Most Burgled Streets in the UK


Imagine how devastated you would be if someone broke into your student house and stole your laptop a week before your final deadline – well unfortunately for students up and down the country this isn’t a hypothetical situation, it’s a very real nightmare.

According to Moneysupermarket.com’s survey into insurance claims for theft and burglary, there are ten areas in the UK to avoid if you want to decrease your chances of attracting burglars.

Their list was made following an analysis of the number of claims made per thousand people and used information from more than three million home insurance quotes, so its worth considering before you sign on the dotted line for your new house!

10. SE27 – West Norwood, London (30.5 claims per thousand)

In the twelve months between February 2013 and 2014, West Norwood fluctuated between 97 and 163 reported burglaries every month – perhaps unsurprisingly, the highly populated student area’s peak in burglaries was in the move-in month of September!

9. UB6 – Greenford, Perivale and Ealing, London (30.9 claims per thousand)

The latest statistics for UB6 – Greenford, Perivale and Ealing – show a decline in burglaries, but there were still 39 reported in February 2014 alone. November and December 2013 had 68 and 67 reported burglaries respectively, showing how homes stocked with Christmas gifts become prime targets in the winter months.

8. N18 – Upper Edmonton; Edmonton, London (32.3 claims per thousand)

In the borough of Enfield, Upper Edmonton was targeted with an average 29 reported burglaries per month and had a peak at 39 burglaries in January 2014.

7. L22 – Waterloo, Liverpool

Outside of London, and just outside of the top 5 worst UK areas for burglary, is Waterloo in Liverpool. There are 32.6 claims made per thousand people and when considering that Waterloo sits within a ward of 14,119 people, it becomes apparent that burglary and theft are common concerns.

6. L18 – Allerton; Mossley Hill, Liverpool

The sixth most highly burgled area in the UK is also in Liverpool, with 33.3 claims per thousand made within the Allteron and Mossley Hill areas, both under the postcode L18. Allerton is a highly populated student area only a short walk away from the Liverpool John Moores campus, so make sure you are smart when it comes to contents insurance and personal safety.

5. N2 – East Finchley; Fortis Green; Hampstead Garden Suburb, London

If you are looking for a student house in London and it happens to have an N2 postcode, you might want to look at alternatives as there were 34.5 burglary claims per thousand. However MoneySuperMarket.com’s home insurance expert Kevin Pratt doesn’t think you should let statistics sway you, stating “claim hotspots don’t actually mean the area in question is not a nice place to live!”

4. RM8 – Dagenham; Becontree London, (35.9 claims per thousand)

Still firmly staying in London, the postcode with the 4th highest burglary statistics contains student favorite’s Dagenham and Beacontree with 53 burglaries reported in February 2014 alone.

3. N10 – Muswell Hill, London

London’s Muswell Hill had 40.9 burglary claims per thousand people, making it the third highest concentration of burglaries in the country. Other crimes are also on the rise and Muswell Hill is surrounded by similar areas; neighbouring Noel Park has an above average crime rate.

2. SE24 – Herne Hill; London

Lambeth’s Herne Hill had 41.8 reported burglaries per thousand people, but didn’t take the top spot as the area with the highest number of claims in the UK.

1. M21 – Chorlton-cum-Hardy; Barlow Moor, Manchester, 45.2

Four miles south of Manchester’s city centre, there were 45.2 burglary claims per thousand people in Chorlton-cum-Hardy and Barlow Moor.

Households in high-risk areas pay about 24 per cent more for insurance each year and students are prime targets, but you can get a good deal on your contents insurance with Endsleigh who are an insurance company specifically set up to cover students.

Written by Jess Macdonald