Neighbourhood police teams offer shed and garden security advice as lighter nights return

The officers have delivered a number of tips to beat criminality and avoid becoming a victim of crime.

A police spokesman said: “Lighter nights often mean criminals are on the prowl for easy pickings from gardens, sheds and garages.

“As the weather starts to warm up, we all spend more time outside, but we all also get a bit lax about leaving our property around and locking our sheds and garages when we use them.

“Opportunist criminals are always on the lookout for bikes, tools, sports equipment and fishing tackle in sheds and garages, as well as in gardens.

“So, if you haven’t assessed your security for some time then we would urge you to look at your sheds, garages and outbuildings and see how secure they really are.”

The security tips include:

○ Make sure your shed or garage is secured with a good quality lock.

○ Keep back gates locked when not used.

○ Check there are no bins, composters or trees that can be used for climbing over your garden fence to gain access – consider planting thorny bushes inside the fence.

○ Do you have security/motion sensor lights? They can be a great deterrent if your home or garden is secluded from street lighting.

○ Loop a strong chain through the handles of your garden tools and connect the ends with a strong padlock. If possible, fix a large metal eyelet to part of the shed frame and loop the chain through it. Alternatively consider installing a lockable storage cupboard.

○ As well as protecting property in sheds and garages people can also stop thieves stealing plants by using heavy plant pots which will be less desirable to walk off with.

○ Many shed windows are never used, if this is the case – why not screw them shut. Fitting mesh or steel bars across the window from the inside allows light to enter but means the thief has to go to a lot of trouble to remove them. Replace broken glass with laminated glass.

○ If you have a household alarm, consider extending it to cover your outbuildings or fit a bespoke shed/garage alarm.

○ Check your home contents policy to see if you are covered in the event of a break-in.

○ If you have an expensive bicycle or motorbike, make sure you have a good quality lock securing it when it is not being used.

○ For reference record a description and add photographs of your cycles, golf clubs, fishing equipment, tools, and any other valuable property free on www.immobilise.com .

○ Consider marking your property too using a visible permanent marker (eg waterproof paint, engraving or permanent marker pen) or if you prefer an invisible marker (UV pens etc). It is recommended that you put your postcode prefixed with the number of your address, this allows any recovered stolen goods to be identified and returned to the owner.