Quarter of Brits have been a victim of garden crime

The Nation's gardens are providing rich-pickings for thieves warns leading home insurance comparison website Gocompare.com.

New research reveals that almost a quarter (24.2%) of Brits have been the victim of garden crime. The average garden now contains £1,040 worth of outdoor furniture, BBQs, garden tools and children's play equipment, yet a quarter of people admitted they did not think that their garden was secure.

Twelve per cent of people surveyed had been a victim of theft from their garden, five per cent had had items stolen and vandalised while eight per cent had property damaged. Bicycles were the most commonly stolen item (52 per cent), followed by valuable furniture, expensive plants and garden tools (all at 13 per cent) and one in ten people had a BBQ stolen. Valuable plants (29 per cent) and garden furniture (27 per cent) top the list of items damaged by an intruder. Bicycles (21 per cent), trampolines (20 per cent) BBQs (19 per cent) were also targets for vandalism.

Hayley Parsons, Chief Executive of Gocompare.com, commented, "A plethora of home and garden design programmes, have inspired us to see our gardens as an extension of our living space and furnish them with expensive patio furniture, BBQs, plants and children's play equipment. With the value of possessions left outside averaging over £1,000 gardens provide rich-pickings for thieves.

"Most home insurance policies provide cover for gardens and their contents, but this can be limited, so it is best to check what cover you have and whether you need to extend it. If the contents of your garden are particularly valuable, you may need to consider a specialist garden insurance policy."

When it comes to taking steps to secure their gardens, over a third admit they haven't spent anything on garden security in the last 12 months and a further 35 per cent said they had spent less than £100. Of those who had invested in garden security, 58 per cent said they had either improved gate security or installed higher fences. Just less than a third (31 per cent) of people said they had installed security lighting, 10 per cent had marked items with a security pen and just over seven per cent had installed CCTV. 13.3 per cent admitted to buying a dog with garden security specifically in mind.

Hayley concluded, "As a rule, we would advise people to try to prevent and deter garden crime rather than rely on their home insurance. Many people invest not only money, but a lot of time and hard work on their gardens, so as with the contents of their home, it is important to think about making the property secure as well as shopping around for the most appropriate home insurance."

Gocompare.com has issued a five point plan for helping to secure your garden and its contents:

Keep boundary hedges and fences in good order to keep them secure - this will help deter opportunistic thieves. Consider defensive planting of prickly shrubs or hedges

Where practical keep outdoor possessions in a locked shed or garage

Install security lighting

Secure expensive plants with wire pegs dug into the ground around the root ball

Use a security pen to mark valuable items that are left in the open (garden furniture, ornaments and trampolines for example) with your postcode

For more information, visit gocompare.com