2
May
2014
By Calvin at 09:57 GMT, 10 years ago
I raise the issue of shed security about once a month on this website – for good reason!
With much improved home security arrangements over the past two decades we have inevitably forced some thieves to consider easier targets. That’s why thefts from around the garden and from sheds and other outbuildings have remained a stubbornly consistent crime statistic that has not matched the reductions of other crime categories.
So to highlight my concern I thought I would run this story just released by West Mercia police:
Police have issued an alert to residents in Fairfield, near Bromsgrove, following the theft of more than £6,000 of property from sheds and a storage container.
Gardening equipment and tools were among items stolen after thieves either broke into or entered four sheds and a storage container in Stourbridge Road, prompting an appeal for witnesses and information.
Officers believe the offences probably all took place overnight between Wednesday, 23 April and Thursday, 24 April, although some of them were not discovered until a few days later.
The largest single haul, worth £3,280, came from a storage container on a field which can be accessed from the village hall car park. Equestrian equipment including two saddles and two bridles were stolen from it along with a generator, concrete mixer and some electrical fencing equipment.
The sheds were all in gardens backing on to a field and some of them had their door hinges unscrewed in order to break in.
Property stolen from them ranged from mowers and petrol driven hedge trimmers of various makes such as Stratton, Mountfield and Masport, to pressure washers and drills. Two adult bicycles were also taken, a Specialized ‘Allez’ road model and a Cube racing bike.
Sergeant Louise Meeson said: “It’s likely that the thieves turned up with a van and broke into the sheds and storage container all on the same night. We’d like to hear from anyone who might have seen a vehicle like that being driven on to the field at the back of Stourbridge Road, possibly via Wood Lane.
“A significant amount of property has been stolen so if anyone sees items of the nature described being sold either individually or together cheaply then we’d be interested in hearing about that.
“We would advise residents to take whatever precautions they can to boost their shed security, such as fitting alarms to them and considering defensive planting to make it more difficult for thieves to access gardens from open land as has happened in this case.”
More advice on garden security is available from the Advice Centre on the West Mercia Police website at www.westmercia.police.uk.
There is also a great deal more advice on this website, which I would urge all people to read and act upon; http://thecrimepreventionwebsite.com/gardens-lighting-access-and-alarms/490/preventing-crime-in-the-garden-outbuildings-and-garage/
You know it makes sense!
