Home insurance firm finds value of garden items

Home insurance provider Legal and General has calculated the total cost of all the items left in property owners' gardens over the summer .

With Met Office reports indicating heatwave temperatures in the next few months, the chance of the theft of valuable furniture and equipment left outside in the garden could increase, according to the home insurance company .

It added up the average cost of all objects found in UK gardens, such as barbecues, lights, lawnmowers and ornamental plant pots, and saw that thieves have over £1,500-worth of stuff to steal from the grounds of each typical house .

Garry Skelton, marketing director for Legal and General's general insurance business, said: It is easy to forget the items we have in our gardens or outbuildings and just how their value may really add up.

Doing a quick check online, using our calculator, could provide peace of mind that adequate cover is in place.

Home insurance firm Virgin Money recently said that households are spending over £4 billion a year on their gardens while one in seven see some sort of theft every year.