Your Home Might be Your Castle but Thieves Think it's Easy Pickings in Your Garden!

GUILDFORD, England, April 30, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

From expensive plants to pedal bikes and even clothes hanging on the washing line, opportunistic thieves love plundering our gardens.

Nearly 1 in 10 homeowners reported that they had fallen victim to a theft from their garden with the average value of the items stolen hitting £176.00 according to Allianz Insurance.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160429/361690-INFO )

Some of the real riches can be found in the good old garden shed. 32% of thefts from gardens involve something being stolen from the shed with lawnmowers, garden equipment and general household tools making the list. But the bicycle is highly prized by thieves with 1 in 5 people who have experienced garden theft reporting a missing bicycle. The average price of a bicycle is around *£250.

It's easy to understand why gardens are so attractive to thieves with the rich pickings on offer:

• The average cost of the most expensive plant in Britain's gardens is £54 with almost 1 in 4 people saying their most expensive plant would cost between £50 and £500 to replace

• The reported average value of garden furniture is £217 with around 1 in 4 people reporting theirs is worth between £250 and £3000

• BBQ's come in at an average value of £167 with nearly 1 in 10 of people reporting theirs would cost between £200 and £4,000 to replace.

But despite having such an expensive item in their back garden, 30% of people admitted that they don't always lock their sheds.

Thieves don't only swipe expensive items either, with children's toys, alcohol and even washing hanging on the line disappearing.

The research also found that personalisation is key in a British garden - why keep up with the Jones' when you can create your own style? Here's a taste of some of the more unusual ornaments that grace our gardens.

1) A 7ft metal giraffe

2) Two ornamental statues of a cat and dog dressed as Star Wars characters duelling with lightsabres

3) A weeing frog statue

4) WW2 mine warning sign

5) Handmade horseshoe chair

Alan Gairns, product manager at Allianz said:

"Many people spend a lot of time and money on their garden so it's important to remember that even simple measures such as locking garden gates and installing security lights can deter thieves. While gardens are covered by insurance, nothing can replace the time wasted replacing things that have been stolen and if it's a bicycle there might be the added expense of using public transport while the item is replaced.

"Our research showed that May is one of the worst months for this type of theft which is exactly when people want to be out enjoying their gardens in the sunshine."

Notes to editors:

1. Allianz carried out the research on 2000 homeowners during 8 - 12 April 2016.
2. Average price of a bike statistic - http://www.bikebiz.com/news/read/uk-bike-sales-rise-8/018554
3. Allianz Insurance is one of the largest general insurers in the UK and part of the Allianz SE Group, the largest property and casualty insurer worldwide.

Around 85 million private and corporate customers rely on Allianz's knowledge, global reach, capital strength and solidity to help them make the most of financial opportunities and to avoid and safeguard themselves against risks.

In 2015, over 142,000 employees in more than 70 countries achieved total revenues of approximately 125.2bn euros

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