The survey also found that one in five people do not feel safe in their homes?
Where the hell do these people get these figures from? I talk to a lot of people through most weeks and most of them young/old feel unsafe in their home and the figures are higher if asked do they feel safe walking the streets?even in the day...Get in the real world .people dont rely on the legal system or the police for justice? because if you do you will get a shock. No justice for the innocent people .either from the courts or police.....

i keep the cat next to my bed. anyway breaking into my house will get a face full of claws :)

I keep an alarm clock next to my bed, and a reading light

If an intruder got past my dog he would find himself on the wrong end of real weapon, not a bat or a torch.

Blue Chris, On The Blue Moon
Is that so you can "tick them off if you get burgled???"" hehehe

I have an iron bar on one side of my bed & a machete on the other side, right or wrong an English man's (or woman in my case)home is his/her castle

I have a weapon in bed with me.The Wife!

I keep a hammer and a screw driver by my bedside. Anyone who enters my bedroom after forcing entry takes their life into their own hands. I rather be judged by 12 men then 1 god.

I wouldn't disclose what I have ready, but they don't like it up 'em.

I keep a hammer next to my bed, but I also leave the living room and kitchen lights on all night, every night. Wasting some energy I know, but I do not feel safe otherwise. I don't feel safe anywhere, and that is my biggest argument against public transport. The creeps I have encountered when on same. It is not right that people should have to wait around at dark bus stops for buses that scarcely ever arrive on time.
I don't know how I would react if somebody did break in my home whilst I was there, but I hope that I would use the fear to give me the strength to attack them with vigour. Personally, I would not care if I did kill them, they would deserve it. How can "reasonable force" be evaluated when a lone woman is faced with a young strong assailant? All that you can do in such a situation is strike out as if your very life depended on it, which it invariably does. No time to hesitate and think, "mmm, now what is reasonable". The law needs to wise up and understand that if all burglers were killed by their victims, it is not the victimes fault, they were only protecting themselves and in their terror, lashed out. It is a normal reaction.

My mate is called Peter pickaxe handle

" one in three people keep a weapon in their home"

More like EVERYONE keeps a '3 in 1' weapon in their home.

I had to smile when I read "Taking simple and relatively inexpensive steps to make your home more secure, like fitting good door and window locks...."

We had excellent window locks when thieves broke into our house. They smashed the window and ripped out the whole window-frame to get into the house, but when we found the window outside it was reassuring to see that the window locks were still securely fastened.

Guten Tag, a hammer and a screwdriver by your bed is a great idea.

If you can't sleep you can always try some DIY.

Ruth, ex-Bury Road Convent - I did the same to a side window. I boarded it up with a piece of thick wood, nailed in and finished off with silicone sealant and a lick of paint. Four months later it was removed effortlessly in the small hours of the morning. Whoever it was must have been big, as they couldn't fit through the window, but proof that if someone is determined, they will gain entry.

I met Tony Martin in 2005, he lives close to my granparents. He's a hero to decent people everywhere wherease Fred Barras is scum and deserved all he got.
I used to have a baseball bat next to my bed when I lived in Manchester. Now I live abroad I feel very safe!

does anyone else feel the same as me? If someone broke into buckingham palace or house of lords/commons etc... the person would be sent to prison for a lengthy term, But if they got into my house and ruined my life by going through my possesions then they would get a slapped wrist? or perhaps do community work for 3 hours? DISGUSTING is all i can say about this country these days no wonder people have weapons next to their bed.

Now for the "official line";

If you are being burglared, you need to stop to think what makes the miscreant do these deeds. You obviously have possessions which he doesn't have. Is that fair? It's no good ranting that you've worked all your life to acquire what you have. He just won't understand that. You need to put that cricket bat down, and try to relate to the unfortunate individual. Hitting out with violence just means you are losing control of your emotions. Have you considered the need to go on one of our Anger Management courses? But remember if you so much as harm one hair on his head, our law enforcement will come down on you like the proverbial ton of bricks.

I hope I'm miles from the truth, but somehow I doubt it.

I'm thinking of getting some sulphuric acid or filling a lemon Jif with ammonia. Which would you prefer, thieving verminous scum?

I have been burgled at night and it's horrible as those who have will know. My house now is like Fort Knox. Wireless alarms are great because you can extend the system to your sheds and garages. I have been waiting for someone to try and break into my shed and see their faces when the whole house goes off. My window opening lights are so small, nobody could get through and I refuse to now have glass in my entrance doors. I have a panic button by the bed and am one of the ones with a metal baseball bat at the ready. If someone were to get in, we wouldn't hesitate to use it and I couldn't care less what the law says about homeowners attacking burglars.

After what's just happened to Kerry Katona, with all her security and CCTV, is it any wonder that people choose to keep something to hand. Like a fire extinguisher, better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

I have a cricket bat next to my bed and 'reasonable force' would go out of the window if an intruder broke in! I'd rather face the consequences in a court room than be attacked in my own home - even if the law in this country only tends to benefit criminals.

When I hear about the 'rights of burglars' it makes me sick.

If they enter my house illegally, they should have no rights and face the consequences of my baseball bat.

The PC brigade should think more about the victims of the crime rather than the criminal.

I think it's time we all wrote to our MP's and tell them how we 'the people' think about this and get the law changed. Maybe the intruders will think twice if they know we are allowed to beat them senseless with no consequences for us!

I keep an axe and a bottle with bell pepper seeds soaked in vodka (very effective i have been told)
anyone gets in my house will be very sorry indeed

Colin W: " I used to have a baseball bat next to my bed when I lived in Manchester. Now I live abroad I feel very safe!"

What a volte face! You mentioned in another posting a few weeks ago -- regarding an elderly lady who had her ring stolen -- that you used your bat on an intruder trying to break into your Stockholm flat. Nothing changes eh!