In a survey of home insurance claims, a suburb of Manchester is the home theft capital of Britain. One in 11 households within the M21 postcode area of Chorlton-cum-Hardy, an area with a Bohemian reputation, made a theft claim in 2009. According to moneysupermarket.com,which reviewed and compiled statistics from more than 1 million inquiries, said ten of the twenty worst postcodes for home theft were in London.

Running behind Chorlton-cum-Hardy was Blackheath, Hammersmith,and Finsbury Park. Moneysupermarket.com said it provided the analysis to encourage homeowners to buy adequate home insurance. Nationally, the figures showed theft and burglary figures have been decreasing over the last decade. According to the British Crime Survey, property crime peaked in 1993 but has more than halved since then.

As lenders become stricter on lending, some home buyers could see criteria for lenders including such stipulations as theft data when determining a property’s approval.

Residents of the Chorlton-cum-Hardy area do not agree with the report. Pete Williams, a resident, said: "I think they have got it wrong. This is one of the safest places in Manchester. It has become a very sought after area, with a lot of people who can’t afford Didsbury moving here. I lived in London for 10 years and was burgled twice, I’ve lived here for 15 years and never had a burglary."

Chorlton neighborhood police sergent Steward Chitty said: "Without knowing how these figures are put together it is difficult to say how accurate they are in terms of actual crime reports. I will accept that burglary is an ongoing issue across Manchester and every burglary that takes place is a burglary too many, but all crime is coming down year on year."

Paul Ankers, a Chorlton councillor said: "We did have a spike in burglaries 12 months ago. A lot of that was down to a small number of career burglars and working with the police we’ve achieved some arrests."

The top ten on the list for UK districts most likely to claim theft on home insurance are: Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Blackheath, Hammersmith, Finsbury Park, and Roundhay.