In recent weeks several burglaries have taken place in Weybridge. Over the Christmas week there was both an attempted and a successful break-in on two adjoining streets in the town. These events have generated trepidation in neighbours who are now taking extra care in securing their homes.
The unsuccessful effort occurred during the night of the 23rd of December; the owners were in and heard an unusual banging sound, not knowing what it was. In the end they left it and woke up the next morning to discover that the back door had been tampered with and the banging sound came from the thief knocking down the side gate. In this case nobody was caught but thankfully the door withstood the endeavour.
The second burglary took place on the night of the 30th of December and once again the owners were at home in bed. Less detail is known about this break-in but unfortunately jewellery was stolen. The next day a man in the neighbourhood was heard to say, “The son of the people next door to the affected house claims to know who the offender(s) is/are, however the family has not alerted the police about this."
With many of us going away during the holiday seasons, it is the perfect time for burglars to get their hands on our belongings. The most important things to remember if you do leave your house for a long period of time are to leave a few lights on (a timer), lock all your doors and windows, give a trusted neighbour a key so they can check on your house every once in a while and do not leave keys, laptops, jewellery or other expensive goods in a place easy to spot from outside your house. Other ideas are to install a visual burglar alarm as deterrence or possibly don’t post pictures and updates on social media accounts until you get back.
In closing, it is very important to be aware of the possibilities of theft from your house at all times, even if you think you are in an area with low crime rates like Weybridge.
By Roisin McEvoy, St George's Weybridge
