Make sure that Santa is the only one to visit on Christmas night

Make sure that Santa is the only one to visit on Christmas night

Many homeowners are not aware of a growing tactic used by burglars to get into houses called ‘lock snapping’. It takes place when a burglar applies force to the outside of the lock cylinder, snapping it at the weakest point, the central screw hole. Once snapped, it makes it easy to manipulate the lock into opening, using tools such as a screw driver. Cylinders can be snapped if they protrude as little as 2mm from the outside door handle.

Even if your door has multiple locking points, with hooks and deadbolts, your door could still be forcefully opened within a matter of seconds. ‘Lock snapping’ is probably the most common method used by burglars to break into properties with a euro cylinder lock.

As a considerable percentage of domestic (and commercial) properties have uPVC doors that contain euro cylinders, a huge number of people can stand to be broken into with considerable ease. Many composite and aluminium doors also use euro cylinder locks, the number of properties at risk from lock snapping is monumental. By breaking this cylinder, burglars can then manipulate the rest of the lock and have a door open very quickly. Although a door with many locking points may seem sturdy, the cylinder is the weakest point and if this is compromised, any other locking mechanisms can be defeated with relevant ease.

You can prevent lock snapping and the solution is quite simple.

Anti-snap locks – To burglar-proof your doors, you can install anti-snap locks. Anti-snap cylinders are designed to directly replace euro cylinders, whilst protecting against lock snapping, lock bumping, lock drilling and lock picking. Whereas a standard euro cylinder is the weak part of a door, anti-snap locks are designed to be much more robust and only break at the anti-snap line. This means that should a burglar manage to snap the cylinder, the locking mechanism will still be left intact.

How do I know if my locks are anti-snap? – If your lock has a British Kitemark, this doesn’t mean that it is secure against lock snapping. The only way to know if your lock is anti-snap is to take your lock out of your door and look for the anti-snap lines.

Fitting your anti-snap locks – You do not need to replace your entire door, you can simply replace your existing euro cylinders with anti-snap locks.