Summertime garden theft blues cost £400
Opportunistic garden thieves stole an average of £400 of garden furniture from properties in the UK last year.With the sunny days of British summertime almost upon us, homeowners are being warned to protect their homes this year to prevent green-fingered thieved from spoiling their summer.According to Halifax, insurance claims for garden theft tripled between March and August last year, with items including tools, barbecues, bicycles and patio furniture high on the thieves' wish-list."Homeowners can forget to pay as much attention to security outside the house as they do inside," Halifax Home Insurance's senior manager of underwriting, Vicky Emmott said."With many people realising how much value they can add to their property by improving their gardens, there are now rich pickings for thieves, and now is the time to take steps to avoid becoming the next victim," she added.Stoke-on-Trent, Doncaster and Southampton were listed as the top three worst hit areas in the UK, with Wakefield, Nottingham and Newcastle not far behind.
Share this..
Related stories
Low-paid workers are Britain's 'invisible poor'
Around five million people have become Britain's "invisible" poor, the National Consumer Council (NCC) said today.According to a new report from the body, workers in low-paid jobs have become increasingly passed-over by the government, which has instead concentrated on helping other potentially vulnerable groups such as pensioners and young families.The workers were found to be working long shifts...
Read MoreMore cash machines in low-income areas
The government's plan to introduce more cash machines in low-income areas is making "substantial progress".Some 18 months after its launch, the joint initiative between the HM Treasury and the ATM working group has seen 419 new free cash machines installed.A further 143 locations have been identified, with new ATMs on these sites planned for the end of the year.Once these latest cash machines are...
Read MoreIs the Bank of England scared of inflation?
Fears are growing regarding the potential threat of inflation with the Bank of England letting it be known that inflation could be a problem in 2010 and we could see a surprise increase in UK base rates. This comes despite the release of minutes from the April MPC meeting at which all members voted in favour of retaining base rates at their current low although concerns were voiced regarding infla...
Read MoreIs the Greek debacle over?
It is becoming more and more apparent that whilst the Greek government has around €30 billion to hand in emergency financing there are growing concerns about the state of the country's debt. It is rumoured that the Greek authorities have requested emergency talks with the European Union and the IMF and it looks more and more likely that a drawdown of the €30 billion emergency funding w...
Read MoreLabour government ministers attack banking bosses
In one of the most obvious cases of "locking the stable gate after the horse has bolted" the UK government has turned on the banking sector accusing directors of excessive bonuses and over rewarding themselves. However, if you take a step back 24 months you will see that the Labour government was very happy to cosy up to the UK banking sector when requiring funds to cover PFI projects and other go...
Read More