With more than 31 million British adults expected to go on holiday this summer, leading garage door manufacturer Garador is urging homeowners to act now to ensure their property is secure while they are away.
A recent survey of home owners found that nearly 50% of respondents had upwards of £3,000 worth of goods stored in their garage.
However, despite the garage door being the largest point of entry to the home, Garador managing director, Simon Hipgrave says it is often overlooked as a security feature.
He comments: “While you are away on holiday, your home is particularly vulnerable. Thieves know the tell-tale signs of an empty house and have time to plan their method of entry, so it is vital that your garage door doesn’t offer them easy access.
Simon provided the following advice to help holidaymakers secure their homes against intruders whilst they are away:
• Don’t leave things in plain sight. Burglars are opportunists and leaving valuable goods on display makes your home a target.
• Do as much as you can to make it look like you are at home, leave your lights on a timer and avoid a build-up of milk bottles, newspapers and mail on your doorstep.
• If you have any cat flaps, ensure that you haven’t left a key within easy reach of the door.
• Ensure there are no bricks, tools or wood near your house which could be used to force entry.
• Mark any valuable possessions with an ultraviolet pen to ensure any recovered items can be returned to you.
“As well as housing expensive vehicles, tools, bikes and belongings – a garage with a poorly-designed or security-deficient door provides criminals with easy access to the rest of your property. Selecting the right garage door is therefore of upmost importance when building, specifying or securing your property against theft.”
Garador’s Guardian Range, has surpassed rigorous mandatory testing to assure the doors prevent forced entry and keep your property completely secure.
The company’s Guardian Range of up and over garage doors are the only one of their kind to be approved by the official UK Police flagship “Secured by Design” initiative. The range has been engineered to offer our customers even greater security, with a steel plate to protect the lock body, an anti-snap cylinder on the lock itself and extra bracing to reinforce the door panel.
Simon concludes: “Garador is keen to speak to homeowners, builders and specifiers to let them know how we can help them bolster the security of their homes with our range of high quality, secure garage doors.”