Teddington is not the second most burgled hotspot in London, despite claims made by a major insurance price comparison website.

In Tuesday's edition of the Evening Standard (January 15), MoneySupermarket claimed that Teddington is the second most burgled place in the capital and the 19th in the UK.

But they apparently made the claim following analysis of home insurance quotes on their website, rather than actual crime figures.

Richmond Council has refuted these claims, slamming the website for not researching their story properly before publishing.

In fact, Teddington does not have a high home burglary rate and has the lowest rate of residential burglary of any ward in Richmond upon Thames.

In the last 12 months, 37 offences were reported, a reduction of 30% from the previous year.

Cabinet Member for Community Safety at Richmond Council, Cllr Liz Jaeger, said: “This is shameful research from the MoneySupermarket.

"Their claims are simply untrue and not an accurate reflection of crime in Teddington.

"It only considers those claims against home insurance quotes on their website. I encourage them to research their facts more thoroughly in the future, rather than scaring people into thinking they live somewhere unsafe. Crime data is readily available online.

“Richmond upon Thames is the fourth safest borough in London. The Richmond Community Safety Partnership - which includes the local Police and Council – have a robust strategy to tackle all aspects of crime, with new programmes and activities launched to encourage residents to be safe in all aspects of their lives.”

Superintendent Rob Applegarth from Richmond Police, added: “These figures are entirely misleading. Over the last twelve months, Teddington ward has the lowest rate of residential burglary of any ward in Richmond Borough, with 37 offences reported; a reduction of 30% over the previous year. We have recently formed a dedicated Burglary & Robbery Team in order to further bear down on burglary.”

MoneySupermarket did not respond to requests for comment.