Going on holiday is an annual occurrence for most people and much time is given for preparation for the trip. It is vitally important that you consider the risks of leaving your home unattended for so long and implement precautions, some of which are quite simple, so that your home is left as secure as possible.

A FEW SIMPLE STEPS

• Tell a member of your family, local friend or trusted neighbour that you plan to go on holiday and inform them of the details of your holiday such as when you are leaving and when they can expect you to be back in the house. Leave your contact address and/or telephone number with the person you are entrusting with the caretaking of your home. Always consider informing your NW scheme co-ordinator when you go away.
• Cancel delivery of milk or newspapers.
• Either ask the person looking after your house to collect the mail and put it out of sight of prying eyes or use The Royal Mail's 'Keepsafe' service which will keep your mail for you while away.
• Security Timer switches are a great idea for holiday security. They usually work as a plug socket adapter with a timer built in. The timer runs so long as the adapter is plugged in and the plug socket switched on. The timer can be then set to automatically give power to anything that is plugged into it such as lights or radios. This can give the appearance that someone is in the property and deter burglars.
• Check your window security measures. 30% of all burglaries start with an unsecured window as an entry point. If need be, fit window locks. You may only be going away for a week or two but the window locks will provide security for your house whenever you leave it and are considered a good precaution to have all the time.
• Try not to discuss holiday plans in public places where strangers may hear details. You never know who may be listening.
• Never put your full home address on your luggage when you are travelling. The smarter thief may be able to tell from this that you are away and have full details of your home. A name and postcode is sufficient.
• If there are valuable documents or items that you are leaving in your house while away, either place them in a safe or take them to your bank, which will gladly, deposit them in its own safe while you are away.

BEFORE YOU LEAVE

Just before you leave for your holiday, do a last minute check to ensure all windows and doors are locked including garage doors, side gates and sheds. Turn on the burglar alarm if you have one. Make sure all of the above points have been considered. Maybe create a checklist for this last minute check and tick off each area of security that needs checking as you go along.

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