Police have urged vigilance after a series of burglaries by a "well-organised gang", including at houses where windows were locked and CCTV installed.

Tens of thousands of pounds worth of jewellery was stolen from two families in Tolworth on Friday evening, Kingston police said.

When one victim left their house they saw a man on a bike shining a light into their car - and their house was burgled just five minutes later even though the house was locked.

A dark-coloured Audi, with the partial registration MK07, was seen parked nearby at 8.30pm.

PCSO David Crookshank wrote to residents and said: "Call police on 101 if there is anyone or anything at all suspicious near to your house.

"I would also urge you, as you go about your usual business, to keep a look out for your neighbours' houses up and down your street.

"If you see anyone climbing over a side gate, please call 999 straight away as they are almost certainly a burglar.

"The more people there are looking out for these people, the more likely we are to prevent more people from having to go through this harrowing experience, and, hopefully, we can catch these people preying on our community and put them in jail."

The Sunray estate has also been affected, PCSO Crookshank said.

Last week the Metropolitan Police warned of more potential gold and jewellery theft during the Diwali festival, which began yesterday.

The crimes disproportionately affect Asian families, police said.

A spokeswoman said: "Unfortunately the festival period tends to see a spike in this type of crime largely due to more gold and jewellery being worn as the local community travel across London to different venues - whether temples, streets or other people's homes."