According to the survey of 1,000 UK adults, carried out by lighting supplier LED Hut, 25% admitted that they feel nervous about the security of their property when they are out for the evening or away from home.
The data shows that as many as 1 in 5 confessed to feeling nervous or insecure in their own property, when home alone. Perhaps not surprising when the research also found that 1 in 10 has a friend or family member who has been burgled.
At a time when burglaries are rife and Brits are naturally concerned about the security in their home, the survey asked about the measures they are taking to secure their homes and found that lighting is playing a central role.
An overwhelming number of those surveyed (97%) say they use some form of lighting as a security measure in their home. Indeed, lighting ranked higher than any other type of security measure in the study which asked UK homeowners how they aim to keep their homes safe outdoor security light (40%) topping the list of security measures Brits are taking.
Leaving the lights on (27%) and leaving the lights on a timer (31%) - both tactics which lead intruders to believe the house is occupied - are popular choices.
Paul Garner, ecommerce & marketing director at LED Hut commented: “Given the expense people go to at this time of year, it’s only natural that people are concerned about break-ins and burglaries in their homes at Christmas.
There are often hundreds, if not thousands, of pounds worth of presents in the home, not to mention the decorations and the additional food and drink stocking up the kitchen which people have worked hard to buy. Keeping your home secure doesn’t need to cost the earth. Security lights are a relatively small investment that could scare off an intruder from breaking into the home. Simple tactics such as leaving lights on when you go out, are also likely to help.
Those who have serious security concerns should look to invest in an alarm system and or CCTV in a bid to keep their homes extra secure.”
