EDITOR'S CHOICE LATEST NEWS Clacton: Walliams stalker sentence delay Colchester: Waterfront building gutted by blaze North Essex: Black magic in churchyard? A selection of our top news stories. COLCHESTER UNITED NEWS Jamie wants away from U's Holohan: U's can bounce back Latest news from Colchester United. The best of what's on in Colchester, with Gazette ents reporter Neil Jones. FEATURES Stroke victim: 'I felt so isolated, I could not read' GET OUR NEWS BY E-MAIL Just register

Most read Comments 1 Colchester: Waterfront building gutted by blaze 2 North Essex: Black magic in churchyard? 3 Colchester: shop centre plans put back 4 Jamie wants away from U's 5 Clacton: Walliams stalker sentence delay 6 Essex through to Lord's final 7 North Essex: Roy relishes role as wedding belle 8 Clacton: You've bin penalised 9 North Essex: volunteer honour goes to Sylvia 10 Napier misses out on Champions Trophy squad Today | 7 Days 1 North Essex: Strood driver saved 2 Clacton: More police to reclaim streets from drunken yobs 3 Colchester: mum's fears over bus to school 4 Essex: Health boss apologises after data stolen 5 Clacton: You've bin penalised 6 Colchester: shop centre plans put back 7 Colchester: Two council bosses say goodbye 8 North Essex: Black magic in churchyard? 9 Holohan joins the Hammers 10 Colchester: Margaret able to call on wardens

Comment | Read Comments (2)

HOMEOWNERS across Essex are being warned of a new burglary technique called bumping.

This involves using a skeleton key, bought on the internet, to access the cylinder mechanism which opens most locks.

Insurance company Swish Windows and Doors warns that millions of UK homes are at risk because of a weakness in cylinder locks, meaning burglars do not need to use a lot of force beyond tapping the key.

Some insurers are refusing to cover such burglaries as there is no proof that the homeowner did not leave the door unlocked.

The issue is already causing concern within Essex Police.

Colin Stiff, Colchester crime reduction officer, said the problem had been under discussion.

He said that "lock bumping" is a known method of breaking into homes but said that, to his knowledge, it has not yet been tried in Colchester.

Mr Stiff added: "The advice is not to just rely on the lever action of the door handle, which activates the latches or bolts, but to also lock the door.

"It is understood that modifications to existing locks are currently being investigated by the manufacturers."

5:07pm Tuesday 13th May 2008

Print

Email this

Comment

Add your comment

Name:
Email: *
Location:
**
	e.g. 123-123
Comment: Please note: All HTML tags will be ignored. Format Text:
By posting a comment, I confirm that I have read and agree to the terms of use. Comments are not moderated but we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention and we may delete inappropriate postings. Please treat other people with respect. You must not post anything that is abusive, indecent, unlawful or defamatory. Remember, you are personally liable for what you post on this site. If you wish to complain about a comment, contact us here.
* Your email address will not be displayed ** To avoid register now or login