More people leave their windows and doors open in the summer

The Home Office revealed last week that domestic burglaries had risen by 14 per cent in England and Wales.

Experts have also expressed their concern that this figure could rise over the summer months as the weather starts to warm up and people leave their windows and doors open.

A study, carried out by Ageas Insurance, found that a shocking 47 per cent of adults don’t always lock their door when they leave the house. Another 13 per cent admitted that they only ever lock their front door when they go to bed at night.

To add to this results, Ageas also found that valuables worth an average £1223 were on display for would-be-burglars to see through home windows. These valuables included possessions such as TVs, antiques and works of art.

Mark Cliff, managing director of Ageas Insurance, said, ‘It is often wrongly assumed that many household burglaries are committed while homes are empty. But canny burglars know that many people assume that by being at home, they themselves are a deterrent and so they take fewer precautions.’

By Lauren King