Det SGT Dave Herniman, head of Oxford's burglary team, offers the following advice to anyone who wakes up to find their house being burgled:

*Call the police immediately

*Do not confront the intruder

*Let the burglar know you are there. Turn on any lights, TV or radio in your bedroom because 90 per cent of the time this will deter them. But stay in there until the police arrive

*Do not touch anything from the scene of the crime and try to clear up or move anything because you might be disturbing vital evidence

*Keep a phone in your room, either a mobile or instal a phoneline.

Det Sgt Herniman says: "The majority of burglaries are carried out in the day because people are more likely to be out at work and the kids at school. Night time burglaries are rare but no burglar wants to be confronted. The majority are there to steal anything they can sell or exchange for drugs," he says.

Burglaries in Oxford fell last year by 27 per cent from 2,173 to 1,590. This year's target is to reduce this figure by a further five per cent to 1,511 and Det Sgt Herniman knows that the number of burglars in action is much smaller than people think.

"Some addicts have habits of £300 a day. When you consider that they'll get £30 for a TV or video, that's a lot of burglaries. They are a walking crime wave."

But he also stresses that if high on drugs, junkies don't care who they burgle and should not be confronted.

"Even if you come home in the daylight and find someone in your house, leave and call the police. Even if the suspect runs out, wait outside until the police arrive because there might be someone else still in there.

"There are also sex offenders out there who can break into houses which is why you should never confront anyone in your house because you don't know what they want."