Locksmiths Westminster

According to recent research communicating through social media may be taking over as our preferred way of maintaining relationships but neighbours are still the main port of call in an emergency particularly for those aged over 65. Almost one in five homeowners entrust a spare key to their home to a neighbour, with the overwhelming majority claiming that those who live next door or on the same street would be the most trustworthy. Unfortunately, the results revealed that this trust could be severely misplaced. Over half (55 per cent) of neighbours stated that although they have good intentions they have in the past lost, or are prone to losing other people’s spare keys and said they had agreed to be trusted solely out of politeness. Furthermore, a significant number of neighbours don’t ever check where these keys are. As a consequence, over eight per cent of residential burglaries can be linked to careless key management of a neighbour. The findings also highlighted that those aged 65 years and over are also more likely to hide spare keys in obvious locations, such as under door mats, in plant pots or strangely, inside their home in a ‘safe’ place. Within this age group, those living alone came out as the most trusting with their keys, but also the most prone to having multiple numbers of keys lost - leaving potentially thousands of people at risk of crime and their home unprotected on a daily basis. So what’s the solution? First of all, older people need to take more care with their keys to ensure that they don’t leave home without them, lose them, or lock themselves out. Tactics such as using brightly coloured key tags, keeping keys in your purse/bag, or writing yourself a note that you post by the door lock can all be effective. But bearing in mind that such accidents will always happen, we all need to ensure that we have at least one spare set of keys hidden securely outside the house in a non-obvious place. If giving a set of keys to a neighbour, make sure it is someone you know and ideally offer to hold a set of their keys too. Offering to help them – for example by accepting deliveries on their behalf if they are out at work – is a good way of cementing your relationship and ensuring that you each have mutual feelings of responsibility towards each other. As a backup, leave a further set of keys with a friend or relative who lives close by. Of course, ensure that all valuables such as money, jewellery and other items are kept hidden inside the house, although do tell a close friend or family member where you have hidden them just in case you forget! Click here to access more useful information for the over 50s from in my prime.