Securiity.

[Graining]

My daughter lives alone and gets very nervous about someone breaking in whilst she is asleep.

I always thought that you could request a visit from the police to give you security advice, but after several calls she's given up on that.

Does anyone know of a good cheap way of safeguarding mainly the back of the house for her?

I have fitted a few small alarms on some doors temporarily but when a friend set one off inadvertently it didn't wake her, so now she is even more nervous.

Is it her own home or does she rent? If it's her own home I would get a decent alarm system fitted by an approved installation person/company with proper sensors on the windows and doors and motion sensors in the rooms.

She can also look at putting locks on internal doors to make life difficult if anyone did break in when she wasn't there.

Thanks wow It's her own home, do you have any idea about costs?

Banham gates are very effective. You draw them across and can open windows without anyone getting in. Some people don't like the look of them but they are the most secure!

these are good, and portable

The police will do a home visit if you've been victim of a crime. They talk you through changing locks, having a routine of locking all doors and windows, keeping a charged mobile phone and personal alarm with you etc.

Without needing to know any details, is there a trigger that your daughter has developed this fear? Would a visit to the GP to seek some counselling and/ or a bit of self defence training be beneficial?

I don't know - our house came with an alarm system which wasn't in use when we bought it. I had an approved electrician/alarm person come and check it over, reprogramme it and service it for about £150. The annual service costs about £50.

It's money well spent imo because burglars prefer houses without alarms and a decent approved system which is properly maintained can reduce your insurance premiums.

You can also zone things so, for example, the exterior doors and windows being opened would trigger the alarm, but you can go to the loo in the night without having to switch the system off, etc.

a simple DIY alarm may help with reassurance. You can get a Yale HSA6400 for £160 at Screwfix and IronmongeryDirect. You can put sensors on the front and back doors and set the control panel to chime ding-dong when they are opened, even if the alarm has not been set. When the alarm has been set, you can set the panel to bleep for 30 seconds after opening the front door to give you time to get to the panel and disarm it with your PIN. The panel has a loud internal siren, as well as the one you fix to the outside of the house, so it will wake her. It will also connect to a phone socket and ring three numbers in an alarm (needs to be concealed away from point of entry to prevent anyone pulling out the phone line). Apart from the control panel, which is mains powered with internal backup battery, all the sensors and the siren run on batteries which last a couple of years, and are wireless, and do not need to be plugged in or wired. You can unscrew them from the walls and take with you when you move.

There is a cheaper version that Aldi and others sell for less, but it does not have any of those features. It is however an economical way of getting additional compatible sensors, siren and keypad instead of buying them as separate accessories, if you have a larger house.

If she is prosperous she can have a professional alarm at greater cost.

Also, all doors and windows need proper metal locks with removable keys. IronmongeryDirect is a good source.

The home insurance company will have a leaflet "minimum standards of security" or you can probably get it from their website.

hard to comment without knowing anything about the house - and obviously we don't want you to post a list of its vulnerabilities!

from bitter experience..

• if there is a way through to the back of the house (e.g. a high gate) make it secure but transparent, i.e lattice metal not solid.
• make sure there is none of the really old double glazing that can be easily removed
• proper window locks and door locks
• tempting items out of sight
• timers on lights, perhaps even a gadget to draw curtains when it gets dark

BTW home burglary is down because there isn't much that is worth nicking now. No comfort when your jewellery goes but it doesn't happen that often. And most burglars don't want to go into an occupied house.

oh, and don't lock internal doors. Once they are in they can damage everything undisturbed, so minimise that possibility.

Get a really solid backdoor (no glass) with multiple locks. Get solid window frames with lockable windows. Double glazing is more difficult to break. Get security lights with sensors - they may annoy the neighbours though if they are on all the time and foxes switch them repeatedly! Get a burglar alarm. A decent one connected to the control centre. Burglars can easily disconnect DIY ones not connected to a control centre and no-one will know!

some doors have lightweight ply panels, and are weak.

Some glazed doors have substantial hardwood construction and you couldn't smash through them or climb through. However, if glazed, you do have to lock the mortice deadlock and preferably the rackbolts as well, and take the keys out

Good wooden doors are stronger and more secure than plastic doors, which have to be festooned with additional hooks and bolts to try to compensate for their inherent weakness and flexibility.

Thank you so much everyone. Lots of good advice, lots to think about.

our alarm works on all downstairs doors and windows if they are opened when it's armed, and there is also a 'smash alarm' that 'sees' if a window or patio door is smashed.