Homeowners warned over festive holidays
Published On 13 December 2007
One in five people will be travelling this Christmas and most will not take any extra security steps even though their homes could be vulnerable to burglary, Halifax has warned.A survey of homeowners revealed that 19 per cent of Brits - some four million households - will be visiting friends, family or even another country over the festive break, with one tenth expecting to be gone for at least two weeks.
The home insurance provider noted that some 34 per cent of people leaving their homes unoccupied over Christmas worry about the risk posed by burglars, yet only eight per cent said they would fit an alarm or a timer fixed to a light, with most trusting their neighbours to scare off any prowlers.
Marty Foulds, senior claims manager at Halifax Home Insurance, said: "At Christmas it's easy to get caught up in the excitement of the season and forget about home security. We are urging householders, especially those who plan to go away on holiday, to take measures to safeguard their homes. This will go some way to avoiding an unpleasant return and of course a ruined Christmas."
Of those travelling away this Christmas, 20 per cent admitted to having no plans to improve the security of their homes.
