The long nights provide plenty of opportunities for burglars. Photo: ALAMY.

Police have warned Croydon locals to be vigilant after a spate of raids by burglars in the borough recently.

The gang, whom the police believe to be men aged between late teens and 30s, are reportedly forcing their way into houses through the back door. Early reports suggest they may be travellers or of eastern European origin and wear scarves, hats or hooded tops to hide their faces.

The men are using high-performance cars to travel in and out of their targeted areas, and are currently operating along the A3. The time at which these burglaries commonly occur is between 5pm and 8pm.

The police believe that the burglars are not looking for high-tech gadgets, but instead are looking for money and jewellery. They are using cleaning products to remove all forensic traces.

The Metropolitan Police are working with the Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire forces in the investigation of the gang.

Claire Moxon, head of Kingston Criminal Investigative Department and detective chief inspector said: “We want the public to be quite vigilant. We want them, if they see anything suspicious, to call 999 because we need to get there pretty quickly. We’re not getting forensic opportunities.”

“We seem to have teams of three or four coming in in high-powered vehicles. They will come in for just one day. It could be any day.”

No arrests have been made.