Spokesman P.c. Gary Venning reported that between Friday night and Sunday, 20 residences were broken into and 20 bikes were reported stolen. The Cobbs Hill area was particularly targeted by thieves over the weekend.

A woman woke at 2 a.m. on Saturday morning to find a man rifling through her handbag. The man fled when she screamed, escaping with a small amount of cash.

The same night another Cobbs Hill resident reported her house was entered overnight and a quantity of cash was taken.

A third apartment in the area was also entered after the thief gained access via a balcony. Again, a quantity of cash was stolen from a handbag but nothing else was taken, said P.c. Venning.

Another visitor fell victim to crime when his room at a Paget guest house was broken into on Friday night as he slept. The thief made off with a Rolex watch lying on a night table next to his bed.

An intruder woke a Manor Hill resident in Warwick when he entered her bedroom around 3.30 a.m. on Saturday. He fled empty handed when she raised the alarm.

And a pizza deliverer was robbed on Saturday evening at 9 p.m. as she made a call from a pay phone at the junction of South Shore Road and Horseshoe Bay.

The man grabbed her money pouch containing a small amount of cash and ran off toward the beach.

P.c. Venning warned the public to properly secure their premises especially at night. And he said bikes should be locked at all times as thefts often occur during the day while people are at work. Owners of new bikes should guard them particularly strenuously, he added.

"Unless the bikes are properly secured, nowhere is safe,'' he said.