Former burglar reveals the simple mistake people make in their homes when going out

Going on holidays soon?

No-one would head off without locking up and maybe asking a neighbour to keep an eye on the house – but there's probably more you could be doing to protect your home. A simple mistake could put you at a much greater risk of getting broken into. Security expert Michael Fraser has advised never to leave a calendar in view from the outside. A former burglar himself, he warned that by doing so you're advertising exactly when the house will be vacant. "Don't hang a calendar with holiday dates right near the window - they will come back when they know you're away," he said on ITV's This Morning. Homeowners should always remember to double-lock their door when they go out if possible as it's easy tell if a door is dead-bolted or not, he added. "What I can do [if I'm scoping out the house] is put my foot up against the door and if I push on it and it moves then a burglar could tell it isn't engaged. "Don't have two locks if you're not going to use them." Above all, he said, people should make sure they take as many security precautions as possible as burglars are simply looking for the most vulnerable house. "The problem is an opportunist always looks for a house where there is absolutely no security. "The more you do to your house, the more likely they are to move on and go to another house."