A locksmith has issued an urgent warning over a "new burglary trick" being used to break into people's homes - and it takes "just seconds" to do. Lynton Christian, a locksmith based in the Wirral, alerted homeowners this week after seeing the technique being used several times to gain entry to properties.
The "trick" involves a magnet, or another flat object which can be easily fixed, being stuck across the bolt-hole of the door. Once in place, the object prevents the door bolt from closing and stops the lock from working, the Liverpool Echo reports.
Lynton says the device is often put in place during daylight hours when the occupants are home, as all it requires is for the door to be left unlocked or ajar for a few moments. The burglar can then return to the house later, when the occupants are out or sleeping, and easily gain access through the unlocked door.
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 said: "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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