With the start of the gardening season underway, Britain's gardeners are facing an increasingly common garden pest - the garden thief. This summer an estimated one-in-seven gardens will fall victim to garden thieves.
Now, the Association of British Insurers is urging all gardeners to fight back by making their gardens more secure against unwelcome intruders, as well as checking the extent of cover under their household insurance.
From hanging baskets to lawnmowers, garden furniture to plants, and even whole hedges and lawns, nothing is safe. Garden sheds are particularly vulnerable as many have inadequate security and often contain valuable items such as lawnmowers, tools and cycles. One police force estimates that the cost of garden crime in its area alone is £4 million a year.
Garden thefts have included:
· A whole hedge stolen from a West London home while the owner was on holiday.
· In Kent, a spate of lawnmower thefts led to a man being attacked by a gang using a Land Rover to ram-raid his garage to steal a £1,000 lawnmower.
· Garden building materials worth nearly £10,000 were stolen from a front garden in Essex.
· Fourteen ornamental statues worth £10,000 and a sundial costing £1,400 disappeared from a garden overnight.
The Association's top tips to help beat garden thieves are:
· Lock away expensive items such as lawnmowers when not in use.
· Make sure that sheds and garages have adequate security, and that door and window frames cannot be forced.
· Prune trees and shrubs near sheds, greenhouses and garages to prevent thieves working undetected.
· Consider planting thief deterrent shrubs, such as those with prickly leafs and thorns close to vulnerable entry points.
· Postcode valuable items such as cycles and lawnmowers.
· Keep the garden well-lit. Consider installing security lighting.
Most household contents policies provide limited cover for items in the garden, typically between £250 and £1,000. Different limits may apply to items left in the open or in outbuildings.
Tony Baker, ABI's Deputy Director General, said:
"Gardening is a growth industry and so is garden theft. Most gardeners seriously under-estimate the value of items in their gardens and just how attractive these are to thieves. This explains why gardens inevitably provide easy pickings for thieves, especially during the summer months. Yet many losses can easily be prevented by simple security precautions to safeguard what, in many cases, are items worth thousands of pounds."