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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Courtney Pochin

Former burglar reveals very common mistake people make with their home safety

You might think that when it comes to home safety, you're doing a great job - you make sure to lock all the doors and windows and don't keep anything too valuable on display.

But it turns out there are still a number of ways you might be leaving yourself vulnerable to burglars.

This is according to Michael Fraser a security expert who knows only too well the way burglars think, as he used to be one.

Appearing on This Morning on Wednesday, Fraser shared his top tips for protecting your house.

Be careful where you hang your calendar (Ken McKay/ITV/REX)

One of his most interesting pieces of advice involved a calendar, something not many of us would worry about.

However he claims that yours could be putting you at serious risk, because burglars might be reading it if it's within their line of vision.

"Don't hang a calendar with holiday dates right near the window - they will come back when they know you're away," warns Fraser.

As well as calendars, the expert also instructs people to use both locks on their front door if they have two as burglars can tell when the dead lock isn't engaged.

If your door has two locks, make sure to lock them both (Ken McKay/ITV/REX)

"What I can do," he explained, 'Is put my foot up against the door and if I push on it and it moves then a burglar could tell it isn't engaged.

"Don't have two locks if you're not going to use them."

Fraser continued to say that 'beware of the dog' signs are "pointless" because "if the dog can move around in the house then so can a burglar".

He added that people should install as much security to their home as possible - especially a doorbell with a camera.

"The problem is an opportunist always looks for a house where there is absolutely no security. The more you do to your house, the more likely they are to move on and go to another house," he said.

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