RESIDENTS have been left feeling “disconcerted” after a hooded figure was caught on camera attempting to gain entry to several properties.

Homeowners living in Harwich have said a person was spotted in Hankin Avenue, Stour Close and Artillery Drive during the early hours of Wednesday.

They said he was seen on CCTV footage peering through living room windows and testing to see if any vehicles and front doors had been left unlocked.

Zoe Alderson, 34, who lives in the area with her husband and two sons said: “I had an alert from my Ring doorbell when I woke up so I checked it and noticed a man had been walking around our front garden.

Gazette:

“It looks like he had been in our carport at about 5.30am and then checked the lounge window before walking off.

“I then went on social media and noticed others had reported the same, so my husband knocked on all of our neighbours’ doors to make them aware.

“It is unusual for anything like that to happen on our cul-de-sac as all of the houses over look each other and most have Ring doorbells, so he is pretty brave to try here.”

Zoe, who says police officers reassuringly visited the estate after reports were made, said she will now be taking extra security precautions.

She said: “It’s disconcerting, but we are grateful they didn’t attempt to break-in, but it sounds like our neighbours were not as lucky and had items taken from their cars.

“It is a good reminder for us to ensure our home is secure and our cars are locked, even if we are at home.

“We are lucky we are at home over Christmas and have a dog who alerts us to anything untoward and would hopefully scare them off.

“But I would not feel comfortable leaving our home unattended if we had made any plans to be away over Christmas – we will definitely be extra vigilant now.”

A spokesman for Essex Police confirmed the force was investigating.

He added: "We are investigating an attempted burglary at an address in Artillery Street, Harwich.

"It happened between 4.45am and 5.50am on Wednesday December 22.

"Our enquiries are ongoing and witnesses should call 101, citing incident 167 of December 22."