Home insurance warning over break-ins

Home insurance customers could be facing a bleak Christmas if they do not secure their property, one police force has warned.

Speaking to the Aberdeen Press and Journal, Constable Colin Brough, crime prevention officer for Tayside Police, advised home insurance customers to do all they can to foil burglars.

It is essential that everyone in the family is security conscious and plays their part in making sure that their home is safe from opportunist thieves, he said.

He suggested home insurance customers connect timer switches to their lights and lock all doors and windows .

Constable Brough's warning comes after 12 homes in Dundee were robbed in the run up to Christmas.

Yesterday, Halifax Home Insurance advised people to check their policy to see if it covers them for accidental damage.

According to the firm, 41 per cent of people do not know if their home insurance covers mishaps such as spillages and breakages.