Another burglary - Copelston Road - Sash window safety

[LeahP]

Hi All,

Our house on Copelston Road was broken into between the hours of 2.30pm - 5.30pm on Friday 8th June. The buggers were able to use brute force to lift the bottom sash window up and break the lock and come right in through our front window. Our lock was not damaged previously and the wooden frames are in excellent condition but the lock was old and we had not added any additional safety measures i.e extra locks

The cops told us they can use a serrated metal ruler to slide between the frames and actually saw (or shear as the cops describe it) through the lock (although this wasn't the case here).

It didn't help that we had a large overgrown hedge (now gone, needless to say) in our front garden that proved a perfect hiding place for the feckers.

They got away with 2 laptops, a digital camera and an iPod. The weird thing is that they had emptied out all of our drawers and found other electrical/digital items (which I won't be listing in case it is deemed an open invitation to others burglars) with higher values than what they took but they left them on our beds. And two of the items they took were broken and clearly so. Not the brightest of sparks by any means.

Anyway, the police were very helpful and we had forensics out doing a detailed investigation.

Note to all - make sure your hedge is trimmed to the level of the lock on your sash windows at the highest and don't trust the basic locks.

Leah

[Peckhamrye]

So sorry to hear about that, was burgled many years ago (in Edinburgh) and it is a horrible experience. I am always amazed by people who have high hedges in their front gardens - they may feel it gives them privacy but is also gives burglars privacy to get on with their work....

[KidKruger]

I have a massive hedge but I have nailed my front sashes shut (3x sashes, it's a bay window).

But yes generally large hedge is good cover for break-ins.