According to DIY and home improvement giant Wickes, the contents of the average garden shed is worth £1,000. I’m sure you’ll agree that’s quite a lot and it would be financially painful having to replace those items if they were stolen.
I recently had a major clear out of our shed so I know for a fact it doesn’t contain a grand’s worth of gear. Even so, when I started totting up the value of the goods stored in ours, I was genuinely surprised at how close to that figure I got!
To encourage us all to keep our garden sheds secure, Wickes has launched a campaign called How Safe is Your Shed? In support of the campaign, Wickes has produced a video featuring security expert and former burglar Michael Fraser.
The video is well worth watching. I think you’ll be amazed at how quickly Fraser makes gains entry into a shed that had been secured with a padlock.
Like most families, our shed contains a variety of items. There are bikes and garden toys for the children, garden tools and a lawnmower and various other bits of gardening equipment. It all adds up and I can well imagine it being stolen and sold on the black market.
You only have to take some very simple steps to secure an outbuilding. Good quality locks, external lights and security cameras will all help. As you can see in the video, it is even possible to get an intruder alarm fitted to your garden shed.
Please do watch the video and give some thought as to how safe and secure your shed or outbuildings are. If they aren’t, you know where to go for help!
Disclosure; post sponsored by Wickes. To see my disclosure policy, follow this link.
10 thoughts on “How safe is your shed? (sponsored video)”
A thought-provoking post, John. It’s funny how many of us take precautions to secure our homes but forget about what’s outside. We have a shed and a lean-to which aren’t even protected by padlocks (yeah, I know), and when you tot up the value of a lawnmower, bikes, BBQ and other items of significant value, it does seem mad how vulnerable they are to theft. Thanks for giving me a helpful prod to do something about it.
Happy to have given you a prod Tim. I’m just as guilty; when sorting out house insurance I don’t really think of the shed which is totally daft! I’ll get you a padlock for Christmas.
I mention this to my dad constantly, he’s forever leaving the shed open.. not thinking about the power tools and expensive equipment he has in there.
Oh and the fact there could be potential weapons for them to break into the house too..
Thanks for this!
Ah, interesting you mention “potential weapons to break into the house”. When we bought our house we replaced some double glazed doors at the back. The salesman told us that thieves often pin point the garden shed first to source a spade, which they then use to lever open a door or window. Keep the shed secure, you keep your house secure.
He’d only need to cough on my shed door to get it open! Joking aside, this raises some important points and I’m going to take this as my cue to sort our shed out. Although the only thing of value in there is my gas-fired barbecue, I’d be gutted if I lost it!
Er yeah, our shed is pretty much the same as yours! That gas fired barbecue is worth protecting. They can be very valuable indeed. Thanks for commenting.
Our shed is full of children’s toys which cost a fortune, it has two locks and a padlock but still guessing it wouldn’t take long to get it.
Ours has a few kids toys in it, nothing too valuable but would still be a pain to replace. I hope the video has inspired you to think about your shed’s security.
Our shed has so little of value I don’t even lock it :s We too have a gas fired BBQ, but we’re still using it so it’s not even in there.
You’re still using the gas fired barbecue?? Wow, I’m impressed!