Kitchen Garden Forum

I got up the plot yesterday to be told that the two-legged thieves are back again. My shed was OK, I think I'm lucky to be up the top end by the houses and I have a mortice lock on my shed rather than a padlock. The blighters had unscrewed hasps to open sheds on the lower end of the site but nothing had been taken and we concluded that they must be after power tools rather than hand tools. I think we've all got a bit wise to that one now so they left disappointed.

So advice to allotmenteers... buy the sort of hasp that covers the screws (or preferably bolts) that hold it to the shed and get a substantial padlock. Make your window obscured by hanging a curtain inside so they can't see what you've got.

MW

Sorry to hear that you have problems on the site MW.

Good advice about the hasp and bolts. I would also add that if anybody has one of those cheap little 6 x 4 sheds, make sure it is secured to the ground. I've known thieves to just tip them over and take what they want.

Good advice MW. I've got two sheds on the lottie. The tool shed has a strong padlock located in a shroud, bolted on hinges and felted wood and so far it has withstood a crow bar attack. The tea shed is much weaker but thankfully the hasp gave way before the crow bar attacker damaged the wood as he did on 24 other sheds the same night. Some sheds literally had the door ripped in half. Since then the tea shed has only a suitcase padlock for security. Enough to deter someone from "borrowing" my coffee but easy to pop off with a pry bar if the burglar is determined.

Motherwoman wrote:
So advice to allotmenteers... buy the sort of hasp that covers the screws (or preferably bolts) that hold it to the shed and get a substantial padlock. Make your window obscured by hanging a curtain inside so they can't see what you've got.

MW

We had the sort of lock you mention and it was prised and twisted off! The shed also was locked by the usual key and after they had ruined the hasp lock they left things and didn't bother to break the key lock.

Had they looked in the window they would have saved their time and my lock as they would be able to see all we keep in there are things like netting, plant food etc. Nothing worth stealing. To be honest obscuring the view through the window can make things more tempting. One great idea I saw somewhere was to have a false wall with tools hidden behind it.

Luckily, we have never had any theft problem on the allotment (probably because they are surrounded by pasture and almost invisible from any road), but we deliberately leave the shed door unlocked so that any would-be thief could just get in rather than break open the door. We only keep the minimum of tools in there, all much loved but rather ancient, and certainly no power tools.

I hope your miscreants are caught!!