Farnham Garden Sheds

Animal sanctuaries have been receiving a greater number of hedgehogs being brought in to be looked after and this rise has been linked with the number of gardens receiving a green makeover it’s believed. It’s also believed that with more people spending a great deal more time in their gardens because of the recession, which started in 2008 and is continuing today, and the ‘improvements’ to the garden whilst being cosmetically pleasant and relaxing to the human race is actually detrimental to these shy spiny mammals. Some of the activities causing the problems are the removal of garden lawns and replacing them with gravel or timber decking and it makes it harder for the hedgehogs to dig and find foods. The updating of sheds with brand new ones can also affect these creatures because where there was a outdoor storage shed with a sheltered area which had grown naturally over many years this is ripped out and the are sanitised from the hedgehogs point of view.

Dr Toni Brunell who runs a rescue centre close to Farnham said that the replacement of garden fences with new wooden, concrete or even plastic fencing and replacing that old garden shed can also disrupt hedgehogs by stopping them going from garden to garden making it even harder for them to find scare food.

She said that the problem is these garden makeovers which are so popular on TV nowadays. They have been an unprecedented disaster and they are receiving lots and lots of calls for help after the hedgehogs and their young are disturbed by the bulldozers. She said that the mother can escape out of the way but it’s the poor baby hedgehogs which are most at risk and have to be rescued.

In 2006 the British Hedgehog Preservation Society ran a successful campaign and managed to get Macdonalds to change it Mcflurry’s lid which had found to be trapping these poor creatures.

The interest for garden makeover programs have been around for a number of years. Groundforce on the BBC has been one of the most popular ones making stars out of Charlie Dimmock and Tommy Walsh. Alan Titchmarsh was also a presenter on this series. My friend, who runs his own garden landscaping business in Farnham, told me that the way the gardens were made over were superficial as it was not possible to make the changes to the gardens that quickly as the foundations for the garden were not giving sufficient settlement.

I’m sure we all seen the episodes where the house owner was returning and the Groundforce team were quickly patting the plants into position. I never ever saw an episode of Groundforce in Farnham Surrey, but it there was I missed it.

A spate of thefts in north Surrey led Surrey Police to warn gardeners to lock up their garden sheds it was reported in the local paper, the Elmbridge Guardian. With the number of garden related burglaries in the Elmbridge district up in the previous 3 months with 22 garden related in Thames Ditton and 15 in Weston Green near Esher. There is a similar problem throughout Surrey and Farnham. Most of these incidents took place mainly during daylight hours, I would assume whilst people were out at work or at the local shops, rather than during the night and many involved forced entry into the garden sheds or even through the back doors of the victim’s house from the rear garden.

Tannia Shipley, local councillor for the area, told the paper that she would urge people to ensure all property and garden sheds are secured with good locks. It makes sense that these are implemented at all times. It will also be a good idea to get to know your local community and to find out who is vulnerable in your area. The increase in garden burglaries is typical and often rises at Christmas time and during these wintery days where people tend to stay in more and it tends to be a little more dismal outside.

Only recently Cotswold Police also recommended the use of strong garden shed locks, window grills and shed alarms to help protect valuable items from being stolen from outdoors buildings and garden sheds. They stressed that thieves see these buildings as easy targets. Even sheds in Farnham in Surrey are targets.

1st Choice Garden Sheds recommend that sheds should have non returnable screws on the hinges or the cross heads or slots drilled out. Or replace at least 2 of the screws in the hinges with nuts and bolts with a ‘penny washer’ on the inside. Use bolts on the hasp and staple as well and preferably use the fold over hasp and staple. Secure with a large waterproof padlock, ideally with a combination lock, or key. Obscure the windows so thieves can’t see in using newspaper or blinds or you could even paint the shed windows with greenhouse paint which can be very effective and this still allows some light to come in.

Remove any valuables or secure them to the shed or, if possible, put them in a brick built building. If you are unable to remove the most valuable items you could bolt a couple of D shaped fixing eyes to the floor, preferably direct to the concrete. You would then be able to use an extra long bicycle wire or chain to secure bikes, mowers and other power tools to them. A battery operated shed alarm is also a good deterrent but ensure you can hear it from the house.

Have you been burgled? If so what steps have you taken to combat a repeat? Do you know who are your local community and who is vulnerable in Farnham? Now’s the time to find out.