GUNS have been stolen during a burglary in a village west of Worcester, causing concern weapons may 'fall into the wrong hands'.

A home was raided in Old Road, Clifton-upon-Teme, in the early hours of Tuesday morning (January 31). Two rifles and a motocross bike were stolen after burglars broke in through a window in the home which was not occupied at the time.

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A further raid at Lower Broadheath also took place on January 31.

The guns stolen have been identified as a .22 BSA air rifle and a .177 AirMaster which is an additional concern to West Mercia Police because they could be used in other crimes.

Police have made 23 burglary arrests since the start of this year in South Worcestershire alone with burglary identified as one of the top priorities for the force. 

To help continue to make arrests, a senior detective has repeated calls to the public to dial 999 immediately in the event of a burglary in progress so resources can be deployed as swiftly as possible to the scene. This increases the chances of apprehending suspects. Homeowners are also urged to secure CCTV, where possible, to provide further evidence and help identify the culprits and make convictions more likely.

DI Dave Knight of South Worcestershire Proactive CID, based at Worcester Police Station in Castle Street, said: "We don't want the guns falling into the wrong hands and we will do all we can to recover those. We have identified a spate in the Broadheath and Clifton area. We suspect a group of young men are responsible and both burglaries are believed to be linked at this stage of the investigation.

"We're asking anyone in the rural community if they experience any suspicious individuals skulking about their property to contact us but also to secure CCTV footage to identify who these individuals are.

"South Worcestershire Proactive CID is working hard with the community safety partnership and various police departments such as forensics and local policing to ensure we do all we can to identify who the perpetrators are and stop them. Air rifles could be used in more serious crime to threaten people."

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The appeal for the public's help comes as West Mercia Police made a series of arrests for burglary since Christmas and the New Year.

This has included eight arrests in total in connection with burglaries at Argos stores including one in Blackpole, Worcester - with six of those arrests coming within just 24 hours.

We have already reported on two burglaries in South Worcestershire - one in Blackpole in Worcester and the other in Evesham - as a gang of thieves targeted high-value electrical goods.

Thousands of pounds of laptops were stolen during the raid at Argos in Blackpole's Elgar Retail Park. The raid forced staff at the store to close temporarily. Arrests were made of two suspects from Coventry but the fast-paced operation has now seen arrests in other areas, including in Wales and across the West Midlands.

Worcester detectives are now leading the investigation into a series of nationwide raids on Argos stores, bringing several suspects into Worcester Police Station to answer questions.