Check your household insurance policy covers you for thefts from your garden and outbuildings and take the following security advice to ensure your property will not be stolen.
- Check that the shed windows are covered to hide its contents.
- Have you security marked your garden tools and possessions with a bold marker pen, including your postcode and house number? Lawn mowers and other tools are less attractive to a thief if you write your postcode and house number across the top.
- If you have a ladder out, put it on its side and lock it to a secure fixture with a padlock or a heavy duty chain. You don’t want thieves to use your own tools to break into your house.
- Fit decent locks to your shed door. The fittings should be bolted through the shed door and reinforced at the back with a steel plate.
- Padlocks used externally should be no less than 6cm wide and made of hardened steel. A 'closed shackle' type is best, as thieves cannot get the likes of a crowbar through the shackle to break it.
- Consider fitting any shed windows with an internal grille fixed to steel plates.
- For sheds that have exterior door hinges - replace existing screws with security screws. They are designed so that they cannot be unscrewed once they are screwed in.
- Check with your house insurance company that your policy includes cover for items stored in your garage, sheds and outbuildings.
There are stand alone security devices such as passive infrared detectors that detect motion and body heat, or a door contact system – both will activate a siren if the garage or outbuilding is broken into.
