Home insurance boost in Somerset?

Home insurance customers in North Somerset may find that they are less likely to claim on their home insurance policies thanks to an initiative to cut burglary in the area.

Avon and Somerset Constabulary has launched a new anti-crime campaign, reminding homeowners to lock their doors and windows , as summer is a time when opportunistic crooks take advantage of these errors.

Leaving a door or window open could seriously compromise home insurance claims and leave the homeowners forking out to replace stolen items themselves.

Officers in the area have launched a new ice cream cone shaped leaflet that will carry the message: Burglary - together we can lick it.

PC Steve Burrough, Crime Reduction Officer at Weston-super-Mare police station, said: In the summer, when we get hot weather, everybody needs to cool down and the way most of us do this is to open doors and windows in our homes.

He added that many burglars are fit, young and lithe and can climb through small gaps.

Although there has been some sunshine in recent weeks, the gloomy British summer so far may have reduced the number of incidents related to open doors and windows.