Two incidents in the past seven days have brought matters to a head; In the past three months six properties have been raided, with gold worth around £50,000 and nearly £25,000 in cash taken in two incidents alone.

On another occasion a garage was stripped of its tools, and the latest raid is believed to have happened yesterday - in broad daylight at 11am.

The raids always seem to happen when no-one is present in the homes, but the perpetrators have been spotted on CCTV. However, no DNA has been found anywhere.

With the most recent incident taking place last week on the evening of March 2, the victims now want to see arrests - or '200 or so' residents will block roads in a furious protest.

Two of those who have been affected are Patrik Kaleja and Maz Hussain, who believe that the area has been by police.

Mr Hussain had around £50,000 of rings, bracelets and other jewellery, as well as cash, stolen on February 8.

He works in the car trade business and often drives different vehicles. The assumption is that a criminal would be unlikely to know if he is present at home - unless they were acting in the spur of the moment, and happened to be nearby.

The thieves passed up an entrance off St Paul's Road at some point shortly before 6.50pm, which was when Mr Hussain arrived back from visiting his parents' house, and notified police. Half an hour later - and with no police in sight - another burglary took place further up Peveril Road.

Mr Hussain lives in the house with five other relative including two young granddaughters. In 12 years in the property there have been no incidents, until now.
He said: "If police had arrived quickly the other burglary would not have happened.

"There are many cameras on this road and all you need do is follow them, to other roads if necessary. If the people disappear then they must live nearby.

"But police are just not willing to do that, to follow the trail. It's not rocket science."

Mr Hussain has carried out his own research, and believes those who committed the crime must be local.

"They come in at times when you would expect people to be at home. In my case these people used an entrance that I didn't even know came as far as my property. They also did not come into the garden, where I have a dog. How could opportunists always know that people would not be here?

"It's terrible because you end up suspecting your neighbours and people living nearby. It's mostly only them who know how many people are in the house.

"The police have neglected this item until my burglary - they know I will want something done. What are we paying our council tax for? If this had happened in Werrington and Hampton, they would be on the case."

Mr Kaleja's relatives were raided on January 9: the family had been saving for a car for some time, but thieves took that cash from three different places, smashing the property up as they did so.

The incident has left Patrik's brother, who is deaf, scared for the family safety. And the family, who are originally from Slovakia but have lived in the house for ten years, are now considering moving.

Patrik said: "Everything was upside down. Three people went in the loft; smashed doors on wardrobes, and pulled apart drawers. Then they found a key to the front door and left like normal people - they even waved at the CCTV.

"I rang the police at 7pm and they told me not to touch anything. So we did, but they did not arrive until 4am.

"It feels like that because we are foreigners, we are ignored. That's the way it feels. And if these people are watching and they see no police, they will do it again.

"My brother cannot sleep. He cannot express his feelings because he does not speak well, but we do know he is taking strong tablets for depression."

Peterborough MP Paul Bristow has written a letter to Cambridgeshire Constabulary, demanding action is taken. And earlier this week ward councillors including the leader of Peterborough City Council's Labour group Shaz Nawaz visited Mr Hussain's house on Monday, alongside Police and Crime Commissioner Darryl Preston.

Mr Hussain said: "The meeting went alright, but I was not calm. We are decent, had working people; my wife was a home carer throughout Covid, risking her life to help people. So I made my feelings known.

"These people have come into our house, where we are most relaxed, and taken from us. This gold was from when my son got married, when my granddaughter was born, gifts, presents from family members - that's how it has come to us.

"I have grown up in the area and am quite well-respected and have been well-supported. But I am now sleeping with weapons under the bed. I am normally lively - now I am always stressed out.

"If I'm getting the after effects of worry, with the support I have, how are people like Patrik going to feel, who do not know as many people?

"These burglars now think they can just get away with it. So I want action, not talking - arrests, undercover officers, more patrols.

"And if I don't get action, I will get a couple of hundred boys out there. Something needs to be done."

Cambridgeshire police issued a response to the claims, which can be read below.

“We have received reports of five burglaries in Peveril Road since 6 January – one on 6 January, one on 9 January, two on 8 February, and one on 2 March. Each has been investigated, and some continue to be investigated, by a dedicated burglary team officer.

“At this time, no arrests have been made, however lines of enquiry are still being pursued.

“Officers and PCSOs from the local neighbourhood policing team have increased their patrols in the area and are engaging with residents in response to their concerns, offering crime prevention advice and signposting to support services.

“We understand the concern raised by residents about the response time, however it is important for our communities to understand we have to prioritise calls where a crime is in progress, or someone is at immediate risk of significant harm.

“Dwelling burglary is a force priority, however, if the suspect is not at the scene, there are other calls which will likely take precedence, for example a live domestic violence incident.

“Our call takers provide initial advice to ensure we preserve and secure evidence and, with all burglaries, we dispatch Crime Scene Investigators at the earliest opportunity.

"We have checked all cameras until the track is lost, including local businesses. There is clear CCTV footage, but not which captures anything evidentially or where we have been able to identify offenders.

"Trawls have been completed in relation to offences where we have a reasonable timeframe to explore, and thus far have proved negative."

“Location, ethnicity or social class are never a factor in whether police attend or not. We decide based on the facts given whether there are likely to be viable lines of enquiry and whether the crime type is one we have the capacity to attend. We will prioritise a dwelling burglary – of a home/residential property – over a non-dwelling burglary such as an outbuilding, shed or garage.

“There is no evidence at this time that the offenders live nearby. We understand the concerns of residents but more recently we have seen a larger number of offenders travelling into the county to commit similar offences. We are well linked in with neighbouring forces to share intelligence and monitor offences and offenders and have had some recent success with this.

“We recognise and know first-hand the devastating effect burglary can have on victims. It extends far beyond the damage caused or valuables stolen, terrible as these may be, the trauma and psychological scars take a long time to heal, if ever.

“This impact is why burglary has been a priority for the force for some time and we have dedicated teams focused on acquisitive crime, including burglary, across the county. This includes not only bringing offenders to justice but also focusing on the minority of offenders who commit the majority of offences and looking at ways, with partner agencies, to steer them away from crime.”