Patricia Baker, 58, is prepping her house for the winter – using a range of security and weatherproofing measures to make sure all is ready for dark nights and strong winds. This has been driven by a growing awareness and rising numbers of burglaries in recent months.
"This year I've heard of five burglaries within a few hundred yards of my house,” she says. “There appears to be a real upsurge at the moment.”
Her home has been burgled once – although it was 25 years ago, but she didn’t have home insurance. “Following that I was anxious for about ten years. Then there was a period where it wasn't a concern, and for maybe the last five years I haven't really been too worried - right up until the last six months or so.”
Taking precautions
Patricia is having a new alarm system fitted, and has recently installed security lighting to illuminate the whole of the driveway down to the road, with two lamps giving a wider angle to cover more of the front and side garden.
In addition, she has had a new, higher side gate with a bolt fitted - previously it just had a latch - and a new padlock on the back gate.
"I've also become a lot more aware of the importance of locking my windows," Patricia said.
"I make sure that the garage door is deadlocked, and because there is a door into the house, I make sure that a car is up against the door, so it cannot be lifted.
"I also ensure I don't leave keys within reach of windows or door - I put them out of sight instead, so no-one can hook them by reaching in."
Extra measures…
She is also particularly concerned with using timed lights to make sure it always looks like someone is at home when it is dark outside.
"I always have timed lights coming on in the winter from a very early hour - it doesn't matter what time I come home, I know that there are lights on.
"To sum it all up, I think I take sensible precautions, but I'm not obsessive,” she says. “Some people have radios coming on and off - I wouldn't go that far!"
She has also made sure all the weatherboarding is secure - something she learned to address each year after suffering storm damage three years ago.