A CRACKDOWN on burglary in Lancashire has been hailed a success after 350 people were arrested.

Officers seized almost £30,000 of stolen property and visited other burglary suspects as part of the Lancashire-wide Operation Julius, which was launched in January after a rise in burglaries in the region.

The figures showed that the Eastern Division of Lancashire Constabulary received 791 reports of burglary between April 2011 and March 2011 – 11 fewer than the 802 complaints during the same period in the previous year.

Police arrested 78 people on suspicion of burglary, 45 search warrants were executed and £3510 worth of stolen property was recovered.

Pennine Division saw a 5.8 per cent fall in burglary reports over the same period, with the total number dropping from 985 in 2010-11 to 928 last year.

Assistant Chief Constable Andy Cooke said that despite the success, the fight against burglary would continue.