OPPORTUNISTIC thieves made off with a three-figure sum of property and cash from an insecure house in Mauchline.

Sometime between 9am on Friday, November 30 and 11am on Monday, December 3, a property on Robert Burns Place was targeted.

Local police are trying to recover the stolen goods and they have issued advice to help prevent similar crimes occurring.

Safer Communities Officer, PC Craig Marshall, said: "Anyone with any information is asked to contact PC Haggerty at Cumnock Police Station on 101 and quote incident number 1532 of December 6.

"Many thieves are actually opportunists who do not have to break in at all because a door or window has been left open or unlocked. Keep your home securely locked at all times.

"Don’t leave keys on the inside of door locks, under mats or anywhere else an intruder may easily find them and don’t leave valuables in sight of windows, particularly around the tree at Christmas time.

"Avoid keeping large amounts of cash in the house and security mark your property with a UV marker pen. You can use this pen to place an invisible imprint of your postcode and house number on your possessions."