Time to turf out the garden thieves

 One in three people has been the victim of garden theft or knows someone who has, according to insurers Royal SunAlliance.

 So before you do anything, check your insurance policy as many don’t cover items, including plants, left in the garden.

 At least £20 million of equipment is stolen from people’s gardens each year, according to estimates. Some victims are left with virtually nothing.

 One unlucky family lost the contents of their entire garden, including a 6ft x 4ft pond and the 17 fish it contained, a bird table, a sundial, benches, conifers and stone ornaments. They estimated it wiped up to £10,000 off the value of their property.

 In Nottingham, an award-winning garden was stripped of many plants, 25 garden gnomes, a Greek urn and five wall-mounted squirrels, while in Kent a Land Rover was used to ram raid a garage to steal a £1,000 lawnmower.

 But it doesn’t have to cost a fortune to make your garden more secure – and the first step is to stop thieves at your boundary.

 A thick, prickly and uninviting hedge is the best option. Plants such as Berberis and Hawthorn are ideal.

 If you want to make a whole hedge then buy them from a specialist nursery or mail order supplier rather than a garden centre. For a 10m (33ft) long double-thickness Berberis hedge, you will need around 35 plants.

 Pyracanthas are also a good choice, growing up to 15ft and producing extremely spiky stems.

 They could also be used more specifically to protect the home, if planted below windows and encouraged to grow on exterior house walls.

 Other plants recommended as deterrents by the RHS include Crataegus monogyna, Genista hispanica, Hippophae rhamnoides and Prunus spinosa. Climbing roses, holly and chaenomeles may also be suitable alternatives.

 If you have a 5ft fence panel, add a couple of feet of trellis to the top. This will make it more difficult to get over but help prevent you feeling shut in while allowing you to grow climbers up the fence and the trellis.

 You could also cover your driveway in gravel or pea shingle, so any unwanted visitor will be heard trying to creep up on to your property.

 Pea shingle is best bought loose in bulk rather than in bags, which can prove costly if you need a lot. Security lights which come on when someone walks up your driveway are also a good deterrent.

 A black market in garden antiques has developed in recent years, so it is wise to take photos and record dimensions of any valuable garden items, note any distinguishing features and mark them with your postcode if possible.

 Many thieves steal garden tools or use them to break into people’s homes, so it’s best to move shed door hinges inside to stop thieves taking them off and rendering any padlock useless.

 You can add security measures inside your shed as well, such as chaining your tools to the walls.

 But don’t think thieves will stop there. Many will steal expensive specimen plants and young trees. To deter this type of theft, these can be fixed using tree anchors, which cost from about £3.

 To prevent opportunists taking a fancy to your hanging baskets, you can buy ready-made brackets with bolts to hold them in place.

 Garden statues should be kept near the house and bolted to the ground. If this isn’t possible, try weighing them down with heavy objects that make them more difficult to move.

 Valuable pots should be stood on pot feet and then secured with a chain running through the drainage hole and linked to a secure eye bolt on the house.

 Putting some of these measures into practice will hopefully allow you to have a sunny – and secure – summer.