Masked gang target homes on this Stoke-on-Trent estate

Police are hunting a balaclava-clad gang spotted trying to break into homes on a city estate. Residents in Milton raised the alarm at around 2.30am yesterday morning.

Today Staffordshire Police say officers are continuing to check CCTV following the suspicious activity on the estate off Leek New Road. The force says the 'group of men', all in tracksuits and balaclavas, had been seen around Sapphire Drive and its adjoining roads.

But residents have told StokeonTrentLive they believe the same group has also been spotted around Park Hall, Stone, Birches Head and Ball Green. It comes after reports of residents spotting 'a group of lads' testing door handles in Sneyd Green and Norton earlier this month.

That followed reports in Cheadle, Kingsley, Uttoxeter, Trentham and Hanford - with undercover cops deployed in the latter two neighbourhoods. Police say in Milton nothing has been reported as stolen.

A police spokesman said: "We are investigating reports of a number of attempted burglaries in Stoke-on-Trent yesterday (April 17). At around 2.30am, CCTV shows a group of men trying to break-in to homes near Sapphire Drive in Milton. The men were wearing tracksuits and balaclavas. We think they left the scene in either a white Ford Focus or a white Nissan Qashqai. Nothing was reported stolen. We’re speaking to people in the area, looking over CCTV, and carrying out enquiries as part of our investigation."

Any witnesses should call the police on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.

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