University students in the UK are being warned that they are increasingly likely to be a target for thieves.

On average, a student is burgled every four minutes, and the National Union of Students (NUS) says urgent security measures are now needed to protect them.

Robbery is also rife: in Manchester, police say almost one third of street crime is directed against undergraduates.

Insurers say Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and Newcastle are the worst-affected areas.

Kathryn Essex: Attacked in broad daylight

Student Kathryn Essex was robbed in daylight by two teenagers, a few weeks after arriving in Manchester.

"After I was attacked I felt quite nervous, quite intimidated," she said.

"I was very edgy as I walked down the street, I was always looking over my shoulder, very wary of other people around me."

Guns used

Cashpoint robberies are on the increase, many carried out at gunpoint.

The police say most student victims are white males aged 19 to 24 who own mobile phones or bicycles. Mobile phone thefts have quadrupled in a year.

Police are handing out advice leaflets to students

But cashcard holders are the main targets.

Female students are also targeted, but the sort of precautions they take anyway against sexual violence tend to prevent them from being robbed, police say.

The offenders tend to be young men aged 18 to 20, typically working in pairs.

Detective Superintendent Peter Minshall co-ordinates the Operation Hawk crackdown on street crime in Manchester, with its slogan: "Beware. Be very aware."

Schoolchildren most at risk

He said students had even been marched from their homes to cashpoints to withdraw money.

His tactics to try to combat the growing crime figures include videoing and photographing known or suspected offenders and providing "high profile" policing, student safety talks and crime prevention materials.

Although the police and the NUS have chosen the start of the higher education year to warn students of the dangers of crime, it is school students who are most at risk in the street.

Greater Manchester Police figures show that 27% of the victims of robberies of personal property were aged 10 to 15, and another 16% were aged 16 to 18.