Going on holidays? Tips on how to protect your home while away

Kildare Gardai have issued security advice to homeowners to help prevent their properties being broken into while on holidays.

Burglars often strike if they believe a house is unoccupied during summer breaks or even during a long weekend.

Tell-tale signs for thieves that the owners are away include curtains not drawn in the mornings or wheelie bins left outside the premises.

*Be careful about social media updates  that you're going on holidays - you never know who is watching. There is always plenty time to post photos when you return.

* Outside security lighting should be properly installed. Avoid the creation of shadowy, dark areas and position the light fitting out of reach for a potential burglar.

* Use a timer switch to turn on lights and other appliances to create the impression that someone is at home.

*Before you go on holidays ask a neighbour, friend or family member to open and close curtains and remove post and deliveries if they haven’t already been cancelled.

*Leaving a car in the driveway and cutting the grass will also give a lived-in look to the property.

* Every act you take to make your home look as it does when you are there, helps to deter the burglar.

It sounds obvious but always lock doors and windows. In one in every five burglaries, the intruder has simply walked through an unlocked door or climbed though an open window.

Store keys safely as last year hundreds of sets of car keys were fished through letterboxes or through open windows across the country.

If you have a house alarm, ensure it is turned on at night or when the property is unoccupied.

Home owners in residential estates or in the countryside could all benefit by being members of a Neighbourhood Watch, Community Alert and/or Text Alert schemes.

Text Alert has proved to be a very effective tool in crime prevention.

Finally, take a few moments to complete the "Home Security Checklist Challenge" on www.garda.ie and see just how secure your home is.