The worst places in the UK for garden theft

2012 saw a 10% increase in garden and shed thefts in the UK, compared to the previous year and garden shed theft had increased by 25% during the summer and spring alone.

Research by Halifax Home Insurance found that the top 10 areas for garden theft in the UK were:

  1. Stoke – on – Trent
  2. Doncaster, Barnsley and Rotherham
  3. Southampton
  4. Wakefield and Huddersfield
  5. Nottingham
  6. Newcastle upon Tyne
  7. Manchester
  8. Leeds
  9. Guilford
  10. Bradford

42% of the reported thefts were of power tools, 39% were of hand tools and the rest of thefts were of items such as lawnmowers and Barbecue sets.

Summer will be here before we know it, so it’s important to start getting your garden prepared soon.

Easy ways to protect your garden

  • Make sure sheds, garages and gates are locked at all times.
  • Mark valuable garden items and furniture with your postcode and take photos for your records.
  • Join your neighbourhood watch or set one up if there isn’t one in your area.
  • Restrict access to your garden with high walls and fences.
  • Install security lighting in your garden to deter thieves.
  • Never leave gardening equipment out in your garden for an opportunistic thief.

If you are concerned about your current garden storage and think it’s time to upgrade your security, take a look at the Asgard metal garden shed range. These garden storage sheds offer fantastic security for your gardening equipment and furniture.

Asgard for garden security

Asgard for garden security

Designed with security in mind, they are fitted with tough locking systems and pick resistant locking mechanisms. Asgard metal garden sheds are available in a variety of sizes and look great in any garden. See the full metal garden shed range on the Asgard website.

Garden Shed Buyers Guide Part 2

Return to part 1

What important features should I look for in my garden storage shed?

When looking at what features your garden shed should have, you should think about what you be using it for. Will it be storing expensive items or just excess items from your home? Will you be visiting your shed regularly or once in a blue moon?

Things to look for include:

Security

  • Check out the locking mechanism, is it strong enough? Does it use a padlock or key point? In general padlocks can be easily broken off by thieves.
  • Look out for exposed hinges and screws that may be visible on the outside of the shed, as these could be unscrewed from the outside to gain access.

Door size

This may seem like an unimportant feature, but you will have wished you had thought about this when you are struggling to move your garden furniture in and out of your shed. Make sure the door to your shed is large enough for moving gardening equipment.

Will you need large double door access?

Will you need large double door access?

Storage Accessories

  • Does the garden storage shed you want have accessories available?
  • Is there room inside for shelving and other types of off the ground storage?

Child friendly

If you have children that will have access to the garden shed, you should make sure that the shed you choose is suitable for them to go in and out of safely. Check for tripping hazards, sharp edges and exposed screws, all of which are safety issues.

Should I buy a flat pack shed or ready assembled garden shed?

Buying a ready assembled shed will save you the time and hassle of putting the shed together, however it may cost you more than a flat pack and you will have to wait for it to be delivered. If you already have the tools to put a flat pack shed together, you may be able to save yourself money by putting it together yourself and depending on where you purchase your shed from, you may also be able to drive it home yourself.

Where should I put my garden storage shed?

Try and place your shed away from trees, walls and fences. Your garden shed should be kept in your rear garden as building regulations state that there should be no outbuilding on land forward of a wall forming a principal elevation.

If you are choosing a wooden garden shed, building regulations also state that any building made from a combustible material must be placed at least 2 meters from the main house.

Where should I put my garden shed?

Where should I put my garden shed?

Will I need to get planning permission for my garden shed?

You will not need planning permission for your garden shed as long as:

  • The garden shed does not cover more than half the area of the garden.
  • No point is less than one meter from a boundary
  • The roof is no more than 3m high if flat or 4m high if ridged

However, if you are unsure about whether you will need planning permission or not contact your local council.

Before deciding on your garden shed, shop around and compare prices sizes and features to find the best shed for you.

Garden Shed Buyers Guide Part 1

Choosing the right type of garden shed for your home can be a difficult. With so many different things to take into consideration, it can be difficult to know where to start.

What material should my new garden shed be made from?

Garden storage sheds are available in a variety of materials, however metal and wood are the most popular choices.

Wooden

Wooden garden sheds are the more traditional type of shed and are widely and easily available. Wooden garden sheds appeal because of their natural appearance, which blends into garden surroundings. However wooden sheds will need regular maintenance and care, otherwise they can suffer from rot, the wood can split or warp and begin to leak water when it rains. To protect a wooden shed it will need painting every 2- 3 years and coating in a protective wood treatment.

Metal

Metal garden sheds are popular as they require very little maintenance. Metal storage units are also incredibly strong, compared to garden sheds made from other materials and in general last longer. Metal sheds are generally made from galvanised steel, aluminium or corrugated iron. Although metal storage sheds don’t suffer from the same issues and wooden shed, whatever type of metal shed you choose, it should be coated to protect it from rusting over time.

Metal garden storage shed

Metal garden storage shed

Other garden shed materials

Plastic is another material that is used for garden storage sheds, although this is less popular. They require minimal maintenance, however they aren’t as durable as wooden or metal garden sheds. Plastic garden sheds are usually made from PVC, this is a light material which can become brittle and faded if exposed in the sun for too long.

How much should I spend on my new garden shed?

Garden storage sheds are available in a variety of prices. The price of a garden shed will depend on the size, material and if there are any extras that come with your shed.  Prices start at around £100 for your basic wooden shed model up to around £2000 for a very large metal shed.  Before purchasing your garden storage shed, compare different models to make sure you are getting the best price for overall size and features.

Large Garden shed

Large Garden shed

Do garden storage sheds come in different sizes?

Regardless of the material garden sheds are available in a variety of sizes from the small to the extra extra large garden storage shed. No matter what your garden storage needs are, there will be a garden storage shed in a size for you.

When choosing your shed size, consider why you are picking this certain size. Will you have enough space left in case your storage needs change?

Continue to Part 2

How to choose the Lawnmower for you

 

There are a variety of lawnmowers on the market, if you don’t know your stuff, finding a lawnmower suitable for you and your garden can be a difficult process.  This guide will help you to choose the right type of lawnmower for you.

In case you didn’t know, there are 3 main types of lawnmowers available to choose from. These are Rotary, Cylinder and Hover.

Rotary

These are the most popular choice with home owners. This type of lawnmower has a fast moving blade that is great at chopping longer grass.

Cylinder

This type of lawnmower has a cylinder (hence the name) with several moving blades that cut against a fixed blade. This type of lawnmower is great on close cut lawns.

Hover

A Hover lawnmower rides on a cushion of air. These are easy to manoeuvre, as well as quick and simple to use.

What is the right lawnmower for you?

 

What mower would suit you and your garden?

Electric

Electric lawnmowers can be cordless or corded. Cordless electric lawn mowers work from rechargeable batteries and are sometimes preferred to corded mowers as they you don’t need to mess about with any wires.

Gas

Gas lawn mowers are recommended for garden with a size of up to half an Acre and are well suited to uneven terrain and substantial growth.

Reel

These are the classic lawnmowers that use push power to get started and these are great environmentally friendly lawnmowers.  These mowers are more suited to smaller, flatter gardens.

Ride on

A ride on mower is only necessary if you have an exceptionally large lawn and these are normally powered by petrol.

Look out for….

…these additional extras that may or may not come with your lawn mower.

  • Grass box to collect clippings
  • Rear roller for a nice striped finish
  • Easy to sharpen and replaceable blades

 

Don’t forget somewhere to keep your new mower….

Mower storage shed

Asgard mower storage shed

Keep your new lawnmower stored securely away in a mower storage shed. A lawnmower can be one of your most frequently used and expensive gardening tools, so keeping it secure should be a priority and as lawnmower thefts are on the rise, this is especially important. A range of mower storage sheds are available from Asgard. These are strong, secure metal mower storage shed, guaranteed to offer the best security for your lawnmower. Best of all these sheds are suitable for any time of lawnmower, see the range here.

Garden Theft

Gardening has never been more popular. As the recession bites hard more and  more people either have more time on their hands due to the economic down turn or they have decided to grow their own produce.

This has resulted in a massive surge in garden equipment and garden related sales. Have you noticed just HOW busy the garden centres are these days!  This is great news for the environment and a great way of saving a bit of money.  One positive aspect of the recession is that garden tools are now cheaper than they have ever been, so there really is no excuse to getting your hands dirty.

Unfortunately this positive green action has given rise to a sharp increase in garden related theft.

The most common targets are small hand held tools such as spades and forks.  These can be easily concealed under a coat or jacket and sold for only a fraction of what they cost you.  You may also be at risk from house theft as garden tools are often used to gain entry to property.  See our blog on house burglary.

I have collected some information from online gardening websites and pulled together some hints and tips on securing your garden against theft.

Safe Tool Storage

Safe Tool Storage

Insurance

The first thing you should be doing is ensuring that your home contents insurance covers all of the equipment which is kept outside of the house and that it is sufficient to cover the total value of these garden items. If you have items of specific value – for example a ride on mower, you may wish to consider a dedicated garden insurance policy.  Garden insurance is often over looked by home owners

Only ten or so insurers in the UK offer garden cover as standard…

www.uknetguide.co.uk

Sheds and Garages

At one time, you would be able to keep all of your garden valuables in a small shed but such are the array of tools and other gardening gadgets on offer these days that sheds have got bigger and, for those of us with garages, the space is now being utilised more for the rest of our garden equipment which will no longer fit in our shed so you need to put yourself in the mindset of a potential burglar and determine how easy you’d think it would be to break into them.

A good quality metal shed like seem like a quite a large investment (several hundred pounds) but think of how much it will cost in time and effort to replace the contents of a shed that has been broken into.  This is a list of the average shed contents:

Lawn mower – £150

Garden furniture – £499

Tools (rakes spades etc. £200

Paint – £35

Childrens bikes – £80

Ladders – £60

Misc – £100

Over £1000 in total.

So why buy a £99 shed to store 10 times the value inside?

Metal garden sheds are ideal for storing tools

Metal garden sheds are ideal for storing tools

Many people over look the content value of their shed.  Lets not forget the added concern with shed theft. Thieves will often break into your house using your own garden tools.

Pete Spicer, Crime Prevention Officer, said: “The Police often stop and search known burglars to see if they are “going equipped” to do a burglary. So rather than take anything with them they will use whatever they can find to force entry to a house – having an unsecured shed could mean the difference between being broken into or not.”

Fences, Gates, Bushes and Security Lighting Systems

All of these are good all additional barriers for a burglar to negotiate before they can even get near to your shed or garage so make sure you have these things in place to deter thieves in the first place.

Marking Your Equipment

Thieves prefer items which they can get rid of quickly and because gardening and hobbies related to the garden have become increasingly popular, they are attracted to gardening tools, in particular, because they’re very easy to sell on. Therefore, mark each piece of equipment with both an invisible pen containing your postcode (to track your stolen items) and also in a visible way to deter the theft in the 1st place/.  With these simple measures in place a thief is more likely to move on to another target where security might not be so much of an issue.

When You’ve Run Out Of Storage Space

If you find you’ve used up all of the available storage space in your shed and garage, it’s a good idea to fix items to an immovable object or, if it’s some type of equipment which can be operated without moving it, maybe you could set the base in concrete.   Ground anchors are a very cheap method of doing this.  Normally used for securing bike and motorcycles these can be a highly effective method of protecting your equipment.  The best ground anchors to look for carry a sold secure badge.  For more information about Sold secure products.

Tell Your Neighbours

It’s important that you don’t get over-obsessed about preventing your garden gear being stolen. By following the advice above and taking other advice from other articles contained in this section, it should be more than enough to put off a potential thief who would much sooner prefer to find an easier target to hit. However, if you’re going away on holiday or on business and leaving your property empty, it’s a good idea to let your closest neighbour know when you’re going and when you’ll be back so that they can keep an eye on things for you.

Top ten tips for securing your garden and garden equipment.

1. Write your postcode on valuable garden items such as barbecues with ultra-violet pen

2. Check your sheds and gates for winter deterioration, and repair if necessary

3. Replace any rusting padlocks or locks with stronger alternatives

4. Take photographs of valuable items to keep in case of theft

5. Always go for a metal shed as opposed to a wooden one.  Metal is stronger and much harder to break into.  A good quality metal shed will be galvansied, lasting decades rather than months.

6. Protect statues with a simple alarm that will go off if they are moved

7. Secure valuable trees with tree anchors

8. Use prickly plants such as roses or pyracantha to deter thieves

9. Install good garden security lighting

10. Lock away valuable items after you have used them.

Asgard Secure Storage. UK leaders in Metal Sheds

Protect your lawnmower!

If you don’t have a shed or garage, its important to have somewhere safe and secure to store your lawnmower, out of the sight of thieves. Here on shedforce we have spoken a lot about garden and shed theft in the recent months and it is still a continuing problem. Expensive lawnmowers and other electrical gardening equipment is a prime target for garden and shed theft, due to their high value. Recently there have been a spurt of shed break-ins in Stafford with thieves taking gardening tools and using them to break into houses.

In Nottingham, a thief was caught on camera steeling a lawnmower that had been left outside a house in a front garden and even with the video footage the owner of this lawnmower will be lucky to get her mower back. As you see from this article, even leaving your lawnmower unattended in broad daylight will put you at risk to theft.  Another lawnmower theft took place during the day in a garden in Londonderry. Unfortunately our gardens aren’t as safe as they used to be and police in areas all over the country are warning people to take more care.  Garden equipment needs to be locked up at all times when not in use, don’t give thieves the opportunity to strike.

Rural communities have also been warned by the police to protect their property,

“It is important that people take responsibility for their property and making sure that shed and outbuildings are properly secured is a step in the right direction. Use good, strong locks to secure outer doors and even consider locking up items which are stored inside sheds and outbuildings. It is also a good idea to install outside security lighting which can act as a good deterrent to potential thieves. Another must to help prevent rural crime is to report any suspicious activity to the police so we can act upon it and build up a good picture of any on-going criminal activity” Sergeant John Clayton. See the full article here

The police know that no one is immune to theft and want to make sure everyone is looking after their property in best way. If you do not own a shed or a garage the only way to protect your equipment, other than keeping it in the house, is purchase a garden shed. There are a variety of different types of garden sheds on offer, from a range of retailers.

For security for your lawnmower and other electric gardening equipment, a range of secure metal lawnmower storage units are available from Asgard. Thieves will find these mower storage shed a challenge, as they are designed to keep them out! With security features such as pick resistant locks and tough locking systems Asgard metal sheds offer great security. See the full range on the website.

The Met issue security advice for your garden shed

Garden Sheds

Garden sheds are a very popular target with burglars and are often overlooked when security is being considered. The value of the contents, such as garden mowers, strimmers and cycles etc. can often add up to many hundreds of pounds. It is therefore wise to secure the shed door with at least one heavy duty hasp and closed-shackle padlock.

It may not always be appropriate to fit a heavy duty padlock, hasp and staple as the shed door and frame may not be strong enough to support them. There is a range of smaller but sturdy padlocks, padbolts, hasps and staples which would be suitable. Whether fitting heavy duty devices or otherwise, always use coach-bolt fixings through the door and frame.

All opening windows require good window locks.

In addition to fitting external physical security to your shed, it is worth considering the installation of an alarm. This does not mean a complete burglar alarm system, though, if your house already has such an installation, it may be possible for it to be extended to the shed. There are various stand-alone devices on the market specifically designed for remote use in garages or sheds, which fall into two main categories:

  • a passive infra-red detector within the shed to detect movement and body heat
  • a door contact system

Both systems will operate a sounder if the shed is accessed without the correct de-activation. They are available with battery or mains power supply and can be purchased from your local locksmiths, D-I-Y or discount store.

get-a-quality-metal-shed and protect yourself from garden theft

The major problem with vulnerable garden sheds is that they provide burglars with an arsenal of house breaking implements, e.g. the versatile garden spade: because of the blade size and the leverage that can be exerted, few door or window locks can withstand a prolonged attack from this implement. If the shed is too fragile to secure adequately, the spade should either be bolted or padlocked to a heavy bench or frame, or, better still, kept in a more secure place such as a locked garage. Alternatively, your tools can be secured by chaining them together.

Consider the use of a strong lockable box or cage within the shed in which you can store not only your garden tools but also insecticides, weed killers or other items which may be harmful to health or plants if improperly used.

Visit http://www.met.police.uk/crimeprevention/garden2.htm for more information and garden security help.

Secure a shed with quality locks and fittings

National Shed Week……. Coming Soon!

Asgard do like sheds!  After all that’s what we do!  For the last couple of years we have kept an eye on all that is sheds – so we have been fans on National Shed Week for some time.

To celebrate National Shed Week, Asgard are having extra prize give away through out June, so get your Asgard customer pictures in, and join some of Asgards previous shed picture winners - go on to their website and win some Asgard goodies!

So check out their website and see just what you can do in your shed!

National Shed Week starts on 2nd July when shed enthusiasts are encouraged to keep an eye on the ShedBlog to discover the Nation’s Shed of the Year.

This annual event sponsored by Cuprinol is now in its 6th year and it continues to go from strength to strength!

I must admit that initially I could not see why we should celebrate sheds! Afterall it is just somewhere to store your garden tools – right? However, I soon realised that many of our nation’s sheds have played a part in our history and we must make an effort to preserve them.

Shed enthusiasts have taken pride in building and caring for their sheds. Those contending to be Shed of the Year range from hut sheds, eco-sheds, pub sheds, summerhouses and even a category called a tardis shed! This year there will even be a special category for International Shed of the Year.

This got me thinking … a shed is more than just a DIY shed. You just need to check out the previous Shed Week winners and see – there are some real works of art on show. It reminded me of walking around garden centres when I was younger, gazing at all the sheds that I thought would be perfect for my very own house in the back garden. To me a shed was a mystical place and Shed Week is perfect for showing the many dimensions to something we all take for granted”.

Asgard the home of sheds

Details about National Shed Week Here

What is a shed used for?

What is a shed?

To us here at Asagrd a shed is everything.  We design sheds, we make sheds, we love sheds of all sizes and shapes – sheds for tool storage, sheds for bike storage even a shed for storing your motorbike.  But what is the actual “proper” meaning of the word shed??

A shed is typically a simple, single- story structure in a back garden or on an allotment that is used for storage, hobbies, or asa workshop. The modern Oxford English Dictionary (OED) defines sheds as a “slight structure built for shelter or storage, or for use as a workshop, either a separate building or attached to a permanent building as a lean-to; often with open front or sides.

Sheds vary considerably in the complexity of their construction and their size, from small open-sided tin-roofed structures to large wood-framed sheds with shingled roofs, windows, and electrical outlets. Sheds used on farms or in industry can be large structures.

Shed Types:

Small domestic sheds

The simplest, least expensive sheds are available in kit form. Both shed kits and “do-it-yourself” plans are available for wooden sheds. Sheds are used to store home and garden tools and equipment such as push lawn mowers, lawn tractors, and gardening supplies. In addition, sheds can be used to store items or products that are not suitable for indoor storage, such as gasoline, pesticides, or herbicides.

For homes with small gardens or modest storage needs, there are several types of very small sheds. These include corner sheds, which fit into a corner (3’ tall x 3’ wide x 2’ deep), vertical sheds(5’ tall x 3’ wide x 4’ deep), horizontal sheds (3’ tall x 5’ wide x 4’deep), and toolsheds. When a shed is used for tool storage, shelves and hooks are often used to maximize the storage space. Gambrel-style roofed sheds, which resemble a Dutch-stylebarn have a high sloping roofline which increases storage space inthe ‘loft’. Another style of small shed is the saltbox-style shed.

Its a shed and we love sheds

Larger domestic sheds

Larger, more expensive sheds are typically constructed of wood and include features typically found in house construction, such as windows, a shingled roof, and electrical outlets. Larger sheds provide more space for engaging in hobbies such as gardening, small engine repair, or tinkering. Some sheds have small porches or include furniture, which allows them to be used for relaxation purposes. In some cases, teleworkers and home workers in general who live in mild climates use small- to medium-sized wooden garden sheds as outdoor offices. There is a growing industry in providing “off the peg” garden offices to cater for this demand, particularly in the UK but also in the US. Shed owners can customize wooden sheds to match the features (e.g., siding,trim, etc.) of the main house. A number of decorative options canbe added to sheds, such as dormers, shutters, flower boxes, finials, and weathervanes. As well, practical options can be added such as benches, ramps, ventilation systems (e.g., in cases wherea swimming pool heater is installed in a shed), and electric lighting.  Sheds designed for gardening, called “potting sheds”, often feature windows or skylights for illumination, ventilation grilles, and a potter’s bench for mixing soil and re-potting plants.

 

Specific-use sheds

Bike sheds  (also called bicycle sheds) usually contain a framework on which bikes can be supported and locked. Bike sheds range from little more than a supported roof to more complex structures with walls and locking doors.

Boat sheds  (also called boatsheds) are lockable wooden sheds built near a body of water to store small private boats, bathing suits, and related items. Boat sheds used for rowing clubs are large structures for storing skiffs.

Tool sheds

Tool sheds are often found on allotments, where rakes, lawnmowers and other high value equipment is kept.  Often several thousand pounds of equipment can be found in these often poorly constructed wooden structures.

lawnmower sheds are used for storing lawnmowers!

Agricultural sheds

Farm sheds and other outbuildings are used to store farm equipment, tractors, tools, hay, and supplies, or to house horses, cattle, poultry or other farm animals. Run-in sheds are three-sided structures with an open face used for horses and cattle.

Shearing sheds can be large sheds found on sheep stations to accommodate large-scale sheep shearing.

Lawn Mower sheds

Not a common site in the UK.  These are often large structures suitable for ride on mowers.  Often the mowers will be kept with fuel and basic maintenance equipment.  So these sheds often need to be very secure.

The best allotment sheds are from Asgard

Railway sheds

Engine sheds are structures used for the maintenance or storage of railway locomotives. In Britain these are also called Motive Power Depots.

Goods sheds are railway buildings designed for storing goods before or after carriage in a train.

Train sheds are buildings adjacent to a railway station where the tracks and platforms are covered by a roof. The first train shed was built in 1830 at Liverpool’s Crown Street Station.

Snow sheds are strongly-built timber or reinforced concrete tunnels that protect railroad tracks (or roads) from avalanches.

Miscellaneous sheds

 In 19th century military barracks, sheds were used as auxiliary buildings for various purposes. The Royal Artillery park barracks in Halifax used sheds as gun sheds, carriage sheds, repair sheds, wheel sheds, wagon sheds and storage sheds

Asgard secure steel storage – the no1 uk manufacturer’s of metal sheds.

thanks to the internet for this information!

Vangard Garden Shed – A Winner In Scotland

“Very pleased with the locker, we’er on the Moray Firth abd exposed to some high winds and am confident that it’s going to stand up to the elements no problem. We’ve had one of your bike storage lockers for a couple of years now and it’s the quality of materials and construction which convinced me to get the new locker. I’ll get a couple of pics and e-mail them over the next few days”.

Tough garden security to beat the elements
The Vangard garden shed from Asgard.
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 1,881 other followers