Police have urged homeowners to be safer and upgrade security – or at least increase their awareness of unlocked doors and windows, and make it harder for crims to get in.

North West Locksmiths owner Steve Kelly said some thieves were so brazen they robbed houses while the occupants were still at home.

“We are getting called out at least two or three times a day to this sort of thing. There are a lot of break-ins,” Mr Kelly said.

“Some doors have been unlocked, some have not, flyscreens are getting cut – basically (they’re) getting in however they can.”

He said the old piece of dowel in the sliding door or window – often known as the burglar stick – was no longer effective, because crooks flicked the wood out with a piece of wire or metal. 

Mr Kelly said many customers wanted to upgrade their security after they had been broken into and robbed, rather than before.

There are several ways people can upgrade their home security, ranging from the drastic to the simple, from expensive to relatively cheap.

There is a range of older or outdated locks, doors and windows that even the most amateur of criminals can overcome.

Mr Kelly said, other than putting bars over windows, security screens on doors and having your house locked up like Fort Knox, the best way was to have your doors deadlocked and the windows shut with a key-and-bolt device. Mr Kelly provided The Leader with his ratings of some common residential doors and windows – and how to increase their effectiveness.