The trendy postcode where Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and her husband Ed Balls have their home has been named Britain’s worst for burglaries.

Stoke Newington, in north-east London, tops a table of 20 districts based on research into insurance claims. It is one of six London postcodes on the list.

Yorkshire also features prominently, with areas of Leeds and Bradford particularly vulnerable.

Hotspot: Stoke Newington (above) was today revealed as the burglary captial of Britain, according to research by moneysupermarket.com

Stoke Newington has in recent years developed a reputation as an up and coming area thanks in part to its regular organic farmers’ market and vintage products car boot fairs.

It has a hugely diverse population, including large Asian, Irish, Turkish, Jewish and Afro-Caribbean communities.

The research was based on quotes sought by more than three million consumers using the moneysupermarket.com price comparison website.

Applicants were asked whether they had made a burglary-related insurance claim in recent years.

Targeted: The postcode of Apperley Bridge in Bradford (above) came in joint second place with West Bromwich

The N16 postcode for Stoke Newington, which is in the borough of Hackney, came out top with 33.6 claims per 1,000 insurance inquiries.

In joint second place were the BD10 postcode of Apperley Bridge, Bradford, and the B71 postcode of West Bromwich, both with 31.7 per 1,000.

The publication of the list risks labelling entire neighbourhoods as under threat from criminals.

But head of home insurance at moneysupermarket.com Julie Fisher said: ‘Being in a higher risk area doesn’t necessarily mean where you live is bad or rife with crime – many thieves will target more affluent areas purely for the rewards on offer.’

Rife with crime: The postcode of Wood Green (above) in north London had the fourth-most burglary-related insurance claims per 1,000 insurance inquiries

She warned that a listing as a burglary hot spot does have financial consequences.

‘Properties classified as being in a ‘high-risk’ area – whether that be for crime, or something like flooding or subsidence – could see the price of cover affected,’ she said.

‘Unfortunately there is no escaping this and to make matters more complicated, there are no hard and fast rules which apply.’

 She called on insurers to adopt a more sophisticated measure of risk to better tailor premiums to individual households.

‘Most insurers have a blanket approach when it comes to assessing postcode districts for home insurance premiums, but this really needs to change,’ she said.

'If houses are evaluated on a case by case basis it would mean homeowners received quotes at the best possible prices based on their individual circumstances.

‘Homeowners need to be extra vigilant when it comes to security – installing timers on your lights and ensuring items of value are kept away from your windows are easy steps to take to reduce risk.’

Families are advised that simple measures can minimise the risk. For example, keeping items of value away from windows, installing good locks and home security systems.

Lights should also be set on timer to come on and off at different times of the day in order to give the impression that the house is occupied.