Have you ever thought about what you’d do if a burglar broke into your house in the dead of night? It doesn’t really bear thinking about, but our latest research suggests homeowners in the UK are feeling quite bullish when it comes to protecting their property.
A third of homeowners we spoke to admit they’d get into a physical altercation with a burglar, prompting us to launch a new online hub where you can share your less extreme security tips. Being properly prepared and preventing burglaries from happening in the first place is always going to be the best piece of advice we could give!
Our research also unearths the true extent of the emotional impact of burglar, with almost half of those affected (48%) feeling unsafe in their own home and a quarter (25%) fearful it will happen again. Sleepless nights plague 38 per cent of burglary victims and 18 per cent admit their mental wellbeing was negatively affected.
With 31 per cent of Brits willing to use physical force against a burglar, the following list reveals the UK cities where homeowners are most likely to attempt to attack unwanted intruders:
- Sheffield (40%)
- Glasgow (37%)
- Cardiff (35%)
- Edinburgh (34%)
- Nottingham (32%)
- Belfast (32%)
- Manchester (30%)
- Southampton (30%)
- Liverpool (30%)
- Newcastle (30%)
- London (30%)
- Birmingham (29%)
- Leeds (26%)
- Norwich (26%)
- Bristol (24%)
A third of homeowners (33%) admit they’d try to make noise to scare the burglar away while only 13 per cent would try and get out of the house. Almost a quarter (24%) would hide in the house and call the police.
As far as self-defence goes, 12 per cent of Brits admit to keeping a weapon in the form of a knife or air rifle in their bedroom. A further fifth (21%) of Brits keep household items such as golf clubs, brooms or heavy ornaments in the bedroom to use against intruders.
| Homeowners that keep a weapon in the bedroom (e.g. knife, air rifle) | Homeowners that keep household items in the bedroom to use as weapons (e.g. golf club, broom, heavy ornament) |
| 1. London (18%) | 1. Belfast (40%) |
| 2. Manchester (16%) | 2. Nottingham (28%) |
| 3. Bristol (13%) | 3. Birmingham (24%) |
| 4. Glasgow (12%) | 4. Leeds (22%) |
| 5. Birmingham (12%) | 5. London (21%) |
| 6. Nottingham (10%) | 6. Sheffield (21%) |
| 7. Leeds (10%) | 7. Southampton (20%) |
| 8. Newcastle (10%) | 8. Edinburgh (19%) |
| 9. Cardiff (9%) | 9. Glasgow (19%) |
| 10. Edinburgh (8%) | 10. Newcastle (19%) |
| 11. Southampton (8%) | 11. Liverpool (19%) |
| 12. Sheffield (8%) | 12. Norwich (18%) |
| 13. Belfast (5%) | 13. Cardiff (17%) |
| 14. Norwich (5%) | 14. Bristol (16%) |
| 15. Liverpool (4%) | 15. Manchester (15%) |
That’s a bit frightening isn’t it?! It can be a constant battle to encourage homeowners to take home security seriously, so our latest initiative comes in the form of an online community hub to provide people with a place to easily access security tips – without having to resort to extreme measures that could put themselves in danger.
Perhaps you’ve been burgled in the past or you’ve recently undertaken measures to increase your home’s security? If you have a home security tip, whether it’s big or small, we want to hear from you. So, if you have a really good piece of home security advice that you want to share to help others, you can upload it in the link below and be in with the chance of winning a Swann CCTV kit worth £199!
Head to the community hub to get started and let us know on Twitter @TalkWithSafe when you’ve uploaded your tip!
