TWO people have been arrested on suspicion following a burglary in Chard, Somerset last week.

Between noon and 1pm  last Tuesday (November 5), someone knocked on the door of the victim’s home offering handyman services.

At some point during the incident, while the victim was distracted by the handyman at their door, both a bag and purse - which had all their credit cards inside - were taken from their home.

The victim’s cards were later used to make purchases at a supermarket in Chard.

A 63-year-old man and a 37-year-old woman were both arrested this morning (Monday, November 11) on suspicion of committing the burglary.

Both currently still remain in police custody and the situation is ongoing.

This occurs after a recent spike in crime across Chard which has been leaving residents feeling "terrorised" especially in the Silver Street, Jocelyn Park and Bishop's Court residential areas.

From data taken from Data.Police.UK, in 2022 there were 1280 crimes committed, in 2023 there was an increase of 80 crimes with the total being 1360 and in 2024 there has already been 1255 crimes taking place from January to September.

From January to September in 2024 the monthly average of crimes has been 134.9 which is more than the monthly average across both 2022 (106.7) and 2023 (113.3).

The 2024 July-September quarter has had the highest number of crimes recorded in the last three years with 516 crimes in total (13.2 per cent) when compared to 362 crimes (9.3 per cent) recorded in 2023 and 306 crimes (7.9 per cent) in 2022 – showing a 5.3 per cent increase from 2022-2024 and a 3.9 per cent increase from 2023-2024.  

The Somerset and Avon Police have responded to the rise in crime by saying their Chard Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) remains dedicated as ever to “cracking down” on crime in the town to make it a safe place for people to live, work and visit.

“This year has seen an increase in the number of recorded crimes as we continue to improve our reporting categorisations Now, instead of previously grouping incidents into the same crime, individual reports are now generated, resulting in a natural increase of reported crimes,” the Somerset and Avon Police team said. “If you have any information about drug use, shoplifting or other types of crime, you can call 101, report online, or speak with any officer in the Neighbourhood Policing Team for more information."