Police advice to prevent shed burglaries:

People with sheds and allotments are being asked to help make life more difficult for thieves.

Most garden sheds are not designed for safe storage.  Ideally expensive items such as power tools, lawn mowers, garden tools, bicycles and golf clubs should not be stored in them.  If you have no alternative then please follow some simple steps to prevent thieves from stealing valuable goods:

Keep your shed in good conditions so it’s not easy to break into

Consider investing in an alarm

• Mark and photograph valuable items and reigister at WWW.immobilise.com so it can be traced back to you if stolen and later re covered
• Fit a padlock to your shed and wire mesh across the windows
• Fit a motion –activated outside light to deter burglars
• Plant prickly shrubs and plants near windows, drainpipes and fences
• Use gravel on driveways and paths to help alert to anyone outside
• Lock any gates to your drive or back garden
• Chain together large items such as bicycles
• Lock ladders to a secure fixture so that they cannot be used to reach windows to your house