A locksmith has issued a warning after noticing a new 'trick' being used by burglars to enter people's homes. Lynton Christian, based in Wirral, said he had seen the trick used multiple times in recent weeks.
He told the ECHO that this trick involves putting a magnet, or another flat object, across the bolt-hole of the door of a home they wish to enter in the day when the occupants are home. It only takes seconds, he says, meaning the people could be in the front room at the time, blocking their door bolt from closing and stopping the lock working.
The burglars intention is to then return to the home later, when the occupants may be asleep or out of the house, so they can enter freely due to the lack of a working lock. Lynton has urged people to 'stop, look, and check' their locks before going to bed or leaving the house.
The new trick relies on people not discovering the reason their door isn't locking until it is too late and the criminals may have already struck. It is a trick he has seen across the north west in recent months.
He 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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