Preventing doorstep crime

Doorstep crime can include rogue traders offering home improvement or gardening services, or bogus callers who claim to be the council, police, health carers or energy companies.

What should I look out for?

Rogue traders

• May say they are in the area and have spotted a problem with your home or garden.
• May claim to have materials left over from another job, like paving or tarmac.
• May try to pressurise you to buy goods or sign up for services on the spot.
• May offer to carry out work cheaply, but charge an extortionate price after it has been completed.
• May offer to drive you to a bank so you can withdraw money to pay them.
• Provide false names, addresses or telephone numbers.

Pedlars

• A peddler is someone who calls at your door to sell items that they have on offer. This can often include cleaning or household goods.
• By law, they are required to carry a pedlar’s certificate, which are issued by the police force in the area where they live.

Bogus callers

• May claim to be working for the council, water, gas or electric company. They could also say
• They are a nurse, doctor or from the police.
• May say they need to come into your home, or try to get you to go outside.
• May try to distract you so they can steal your money.
• Can be male, female or even children.

Tips to keep you safe

• If you are not sure who is at the door, don’t open it.
• Check the identity of any caller. Confirm who they are by calling the company they work for using number from the telephone directory or a bill.
• Ask a neighbour to come around to check them before you open the door.
• Tell them to come back at a time when someone will be at home with you.
• Keep doors and windows locked and use the door chain every time you answer the door.

After the recent spate of burglaries in Burpham, here's some helpful advice from the Police:

• Lock your doors and windows every time you leave the house
• Hide all keys out of sight and away from the letterbox
• Install a burglar alarm box
• Install good outside lighting
• Get a trusted neighbour to keep an eye on your property
• Leave radios or lights in your house on a timer to make the property appear occupied
• Make sure the fences around your garden are in good condition
• Secure bikes at home by locking them to an immoveable object
• Keep ladders and tools stored away so burglars can’t use them to break in
• Ensure side gates are locked
• Trim high hedges so your property is more visible
• Mark your property with postcode and house number and register your property online for free with Immobilise 
• Remove valuables from view of ground floor windows
• Store high value items (i.e. jewellery, passports) in a strong safe place
• Alert the police if you see anything suspicious.
• Alert your Neighbourhhod Watch or the BCA if you are burgled so we can warn others

You may remember last month that I mentioned Old Bucks weir near Bowers Lock had been dewatered for a structural survey. Well, with the work finished and the weir receiving a clean bill of health I decided it was time it had a bit of a spruce up. With the help of my
volunteers and some very good fortune with the weather we managed to paint all the hand rails along the weir, which should not only help protect the metal this winter but also make the area look a bit smarter.

With the weather good enough for painting then it’s no surprise that the grass has still been growing, meaning the locksides have still received their regular fortnightly trim. This month there was good reason for having the locksides looking prestine as the busy October half term week saw plenty of boats out on the waterway for what is traditionally the end of the boating season. The other reason for making everywhere look extra neat and tidy is that Bowers Lock is about to become famous! Filming has just taken place for the new BBC drama Good Omens starring David Tennant and Michael Sheen. So when it does finally make it on to our screens do keep your eyes peeled to see if you can spot the River Wey. 

The weather wasn’t all good in October as we had the arrival of winter storm Brian which,
although didn’t seem to hit us too badly, it did manage to bring down a couple of trees along the Navigation, both of which completely blocked the waterway and were only a few
hundred metres apart. The trees weren’t on the Stoke length but as the Lengthsman team
work on a weekend rota system it was my turn to work with my colleagues to make the trees passable. Thankfully they proved relatively straightforward and we had the navigation back open by Sunday afternoon, allowing boats safe passage whilst we waited for the landowners who owned the trees to have them completely removed.

With the Autumn chill finally in the air at the end of October I decided to bite the bullet and
cut this year’s quota of Hazel from my small coppice area by the A25. By cutting a
percentage each year on rotation I can meet the aims of maintaining a screen to block the
view of the industrial buildings from the river, improve the habitat value of the site and also
create a usable amount of natural material. This year the hazel has been used to make
wooden stakes and binders which my volunteers used to weave a barrier to screen off the
bonfire area at Stoke Lock. All in all a very enjoyable task that proved productive and
sustainable.

Stoke Lengthsman
07786 703 832
richard.cant@nationaltrust.org.uk
www.facebook.com/RiverWey