A double break-in at a Golders Green clothes shop has led to calls for action to tackle burglary black spots in Barnet.

The front windows of Genevieve, a women's clothes shop in Finchley Road, were smashed last Friday morning, between 1am and 2.30am, although nothing was taken.

Then, on Monday morning, between 1.15am and 1.45am, thieves forced open the shop's temporary window covers and stole items of clothing, before driving away in a dark-coloured vehicle.

The incident happened as recently published crime figures show a rise in burglary across the borough, despite falling crime rates overall.

Across London, burglary rates fell three per cent in the 12 months from February 2007, compared to a 0.5 per cent increase in the borough of Barnet, and a 5.6 per cent rise in residential burglaries.

Kim Cotton, 53, owns Tablewhere, a china shop in Queens Parade Close, Friern Barnet. Tablewhere has been broken into twice in less than a year.

She said: "Around here we have noticed nothing less than a crime wave."

Behrooz Tabibzadeh, 48, lives in the same parade and had almost £20,000 worth of possessions stolen from his flat last month. He claims police were slow to respond.

"It took three days for them to take fingerprints. People in the area fear burglaries, but it seems nothing is being done to sort out the problem," he said.

Barnet Council took steps to tackle the problem last week, approving a four-year safer communities strategy'.

The report highlighted residential burglary as a problem, stating: "It is an intrusive crime which causes personal distress."

Brian Coleman, cabinet member for community engagement and community safety, said: "The burglary issue is at risk of getting out of control in this borough."

Barnet borough commander Chief Superintendent Stephen Kavanagh acknowledged there had been an increase in burglaries, but said: "In context we had previously seen a 16 per cent decrease in burglaries for 2006."