Unfortunately, garden vandalism and theft are on the increase and people are looking more at the ways in which they can not only secure their homes but gardens too.

If you have items in your garden that you want to protect them you may wish to anchor them down using a chain or bolting them into the ground. Many people want to display their floral arrangements or statues but having them in easy reach of the pavement is often asking for trouble. Keep items a few feet away (at least) from the kerbside to ensure that someone will actually have to enter your property in order to take it.

Make hanging baskets harder to steal by hanging them on lockable brackets or by threading chain through the basket rim and attaching it to the wall. Marking your items with a UV pen can often allow you to get them back should they become stolen. Write your postcode or phone number of the bottom of valuable items in a UV pen before placing them in your garden.

You may wish to install CCTV systems in your garden to keep an eye on what is going on and to catch any criminals in the act, should you be victim to a burglary.