A total of 65 per cent of crimes committed in Borehamwood have not been solved, a Times & Independent Series investigation has revealed.

Figures obtained in a Freedom of Information Request show 11,294 of the 17,375 crimes reported to Hertfordshire Police since 2010 remain ‘undetected’, meaning nobody was charged or prosecuted.

The statistics also show that officers across Hertfordshire have not managed to close 207,039 cases across the whole county.

This includes three murders, two attempted murders, five manslaughter cases and 16 kidnap cases. As well as this, 78 cases of blackmail went unsolved as did five cases of stalking.

The police are also yet to find the culprits behind 342 attempted robberies from homes.

One of these is mother-of-three Umber Alam, who was cleaning her bedroom in Howard Drive, Borehamwood, in May when three yobs broke into her home.

The 36-year-old was home alone with her three-year-old daughter when she heard a knock at the door, but ignored it as she assumed it was canvassers.

But minutes later, she heard a thud and ran downstairs to find three men holding baseball bats standing in her hallway.

She froze and they quickly ran away, slamming the door behind them. The perpetrators have never been caught.

She said: “It was scary, but the police have been in contact a few times and keep coming over to check whether I am okay.

“They’ve done the best they can. I don’t know what else they could have done. I’ve actually been quite impressed with their response.”

There are also 273 cases of unsolved distraction burglary, as well as 16 cases of attempted burglary with intent to damage.

The police also failed to find the person or people responsible for planting one fake bomb – but they did not reveal which borough it happened in.

They are also still yet to solve 27 crimes relating to sharing false information about a hoax bomb.

And there are 90 unsolved cases relating to sexual assault with a boy under the age of 13, and 83 girls under the age of 13 have still not seen their rapists bought to justice.

The police have not found two people who committed bigamy and there are four cases of pornographic images containing animals having sex where nobody has been charged.

In a statement, Hertfordshire Constabulary said: "We are dedicated to investigating every crime report we receive and making sure victims of crime are taken seriously. There are many reasons why some crimes go unsolved, including the nature of the crime itself.

"Some crimes may have a lack of investigative opportunity with no evidence or further lines of enquiry and the willingness and vulnerability of victims and witnesses can also present challenges.

"We would like to reassure people who report crime to us that they will be believed when they choose to report and get the help they need.

"Being a victim of crime is a horrible experience and we would not want anyone to be deterred in reporting crime in the future."