THE 10 UK BURGLARY HOTSPOTS

NOVANEWS
By Emma Roberts



 Emma Roberts reveals the 10 worst places in the country for burglaries and uncovers some simple, cost-effective steps to protect your home from burglars.

With most of us happily off on our summer holidays, home security is sometimes one of the last things on our minds. Well, before you go jetting away to the sunshine, sand and sangria, you’re going to want to look at this.

The top ten worst areas for burglary in the UK have been revealed, with London, Burnley and Manchester topping the hit list.

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Londoners have the highest risk of having their homes burgled, with 46.35 burglaries per 1000 people, a statistic which is much higher than runner-up Burnley, which has 24.63.

The area which has the lowest rate is Ceredigion in Wales, where the lucky residents have a miniscule 2.84 burglaries per 1000 people. 

There’s also some good news if you live in Hartlepool, Durham, because this is the area that has seen the biggest reduction in burglaries since 2002.

Local Authority	burglaries 08/09	change since 02/03	burglaries per 1,000 population 08/09
City of London	370	-74	46.35
Burnley	2,154	262	24.63
Manchester	10,885	-4,447	23.76
Nottingham	6,454	-7,311	22.36
Bristol, City of	8,575	-5,310	20.60
Reading	2,959	-836	20.59
Leeds	15,616	-12,909	20.52
North East Lincolnshire	3,198	-1,929	20.20
Ashfield	2,323	-1,007	20.04
Kingston upon Hull, City of	5,054	-6,841	19.67

Although national statistics of burglaries have dropped, a study by the Yorkshire Bank revealed that, shockingly, one in four households in the UK have no contents insurance and 1 in 3 have no buildings cover.

This means that if you are one of these people and your home gets broken into, you have to fork out for the expenses, causing even more grief and hassle.

So what can we do to protect our homes and possessions from these opportunistic intruders?

Whether you’re a city slicker or a rural resident, deterring burglars is essential andthe good news is, adding extra security measures to your home can lower the cost of your home insurance.

Devious deterrents

First things first, the clichés must be tackled. Believe it or not many people still leave spare keys  under the front door mat. If you do this you might as well leave a nice note to the burglar saying ‘help yourself to my belongings’.

Instead, give a spare key to a very well trusted neighbour, so they can come to your rescue if you ever get locked out.

I shouldn’t have to say this, but never leave windows open when you’re out. Even if it is blisteringly hot, you might end up coming home to a cool but empty house.

There are more helpful tips and hints on the Virtual Home website courtesy of Halifax.

Simple measures

The way your home looks from the outside can determine if a burglar wants to get inside.

If your house is on a busy street and you have lots of neighbours, you should ideally make your front garden open and exposed so your neighbours can clearly see your property. Adding gravel to your garden creates a natural intruder alarm and B&Q sell 800kg bags for £44.16

Rose bushes also work well as a further obstacle because of their sharp and inconvenient thorns. You can buy rose food from Wilkinson for £2.76 to help make the thorns extra strong.

Fitting an outdoor light is also a great security measure and you can pick up an outdoor flood lamp for £75.20 from lightingdirect.com or try eBay for some second hand bargains.

Having a canine companion is proven to lower your chances of getting burgled. This doesn’t necessarily mean that your Chihuahua Princess Bubbles will fend off intruders, but having a dog or the apparent presence of a dog works well.

If you’re serious about getting a dog, then it’s crucial to check out the costs involved.

Otherwise, amazon.co.uk are selling a realistic sounding, electronic dog barking motion alarm for £59.95. You can also buy a ‘beware of the dog’ signs cheaply from a pet shops or keysigns.co.uk.

Electronic Security

If you want to really improve the security of your home and lower your house insurance cost, then you might want to invest in a more high-tech deterrent.

A well placed CCTV camera can put off even the most determined thief and you can get one from £90 from locksonline.co.uk. They also sell convincing dummy cameras from £17.95.

Installing a burglar alarm will lower your home insurance but can be expensive.

If you can’t afford to get a full alarm system and you live in a fairly low risk area, then a good alternative would be to invest in a dummy alarm box, which can be picked up at Wickes for £13.69.

So whether you live in a burgle hot-spot or not, take the time to assess how secure your home really is. It could end up saving you a packet!