Your home is safe with me

Jun 1 2008 Donnym Sheridan

There's A Summer Place - Yours - And It's A Target For Thieves Unless You Take Afew Simple Steps To Keep Them Out

During summer we can be off-guard when it comes to security and thieves are always looking for easy pickings.

Your average thief does not want to attract attention and if doors and windows are secure they will move on.

Try to make it as difficult as possible for them to break in without turning the house into a fortress.

Be aware of any loitering or parked cars in your area as an intruder will want to establish when your home will be vacant.

Ask your post office to hold mail while you are on holiday and cancel milk deliveries and the like. And if you have a glass door ask a neighbour to remove free papers and so on.

Don't broadcast you are going on holiday. If you are going to an airport by taxi, tell the driver someone is in the house - you never know.

GARDEN

Not all thieves are looking to break into your home because there can be plenty of valuable items lying around your garden, such as furniture, heaters or portable gas barbeques. A chain and padlock will work wonders.

Remember to keep ladders locked away as they can be used to gain access to upper windows.

Keep hedges and shrubs well cut back as high foliage acts as cover for any potential thief.

WINDOWS

These are at their most vulnerable during the day when no one is about. Additional window locks at the back will deter a thief especially if they can be seen from outside.

Fitting blinds or net curtains will also obscure the view from the outside of your home, where thieves can identify any items of value this way, making them more determined.

DOORS

Make sure your doors, especially back doors, are fitted with extra locks. Fit bolts top and bottom to make doors difficult to force. Don't leave any keys in the lock or hanging up.

SHEDS AND GARAGES

Secure garage and shed doors with large padlocks and bolts. A metal up-and-over garage door provides the best security. And any tool in your shed or garage can be used to break into your home so lock away crowbars, hammers, chisels and the like in a strong tool box. Even a garden spade can easily lever open a window

And if you have valuable tools a heavy-duty tool chest is almost impossible to break into and, once loaded with tools, is heavy to remove.

DRIVEWAYS

Monoblock driveways look great but don't create any noise when walked over. A gravel path under windows or at the front of the house provides a very noisy surface and is a very effective deterrent to thieves.

ALARMS AND LIGHTING

Have an alarm fitted. Modern alarms come wirelessly and are easy to install, as long as the sensors are in the correct position. I prefer to have window and door sensors so if anybody gets up during the night you don't have a heart attack.

Security lights, which switch on automatically when the sensor is broken, are a real deterrent and best fitted over the rear windows and doors. If they come on, the light shining through your window will alert you.