A Merseyside locksmith has issued a warning after noticing a "new burglary trick" being used to gain unwilling access to people's homes.
Lynton Christian, a locksmith based in Wirral, sent the warning this week after seeing what he called a "new burglary trick" used multiple times to gain access to people's homes. Lynton told the ECHO the "trick" involves putting a magnet, or some other flat object which can be stuck, across the bolt-hole of the door of the home they wish to enter during daylight hours when the occupants are home.
The trick "takes seconds" meaning homeowners could even be in the front room when the object is placed, blocking their door bolt from closing and preventing the lock from working. All it requires is that the door is left unlocked or ajar by the homeowners for a moment.
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He said the burglars' intention is to then return to the home later, as the occupants are sleeping or out of the house, so they can enter freely due to the lack of a working lock.
Lynton stressed he wasn't warning people with a view to profit as a locksmith, but hoped people would take extra care to "Stop, look and check," their locks before going to bed. He said the "new trick" relies on the homeowner not discovering the reason why their door isn't locking and hoping for the best, or putting off acting on it until the next morning, by which time the criminals may have already struck.
He said he has seen the trick used across Merseyside, most recently when a small but strong magnet was placed on the bolt-hole while the homeowner had left the door ajar briefly. It was still daytime when the man discovered the object; he had not left the house all day.
Lynton told the ECHO: "I didn't think this was actually a thing at first. But as I've seen in the past week I've seen it happen, or almost happen, twice to the same shop and another case with a guy who was in the house all day. Which is shocking.
"They must've hopped over his back gate, quickly threw a magnet on his open back door. Then if he hadn't have spotted the magnet, he would've probably just thought his lock was faulty.
"That's one of the reasons why I wanted to make people aware. A lot of people will just want to call the locksmith in the morning for the lock that seems broken, leaving them at risk overnight.
"I think it's now an upcoming thing. I think criminals are just trying to find new tricks.
"If your lock's off and you don't stop, look and check where the bolt goes in then there's a chance that people could be burgled, that same night even."
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