Burglary repairs
Burglary Repairs in Wilmslow
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- 24-hour emergency cover
- No call-out charge
- Price agreed before work starts
Been Broken Into? Here Is What Matters First
Someone may still be inside, or the property may look unsafe: in either case do not enter, and call 999. When you know it is safe, tell Cheshire Constabulary on 101 or online at https://www.cheshire.police.uk before contacting anyone else, us included.
Then Craven Locksmiths Wilmslow repairs the damage and makes the property secure again, 24 hours a day. Ring us for advice even while the police are still involved, and you will know what happens next.
Before You Touch Anything
The natural reaction after a break-in is to start tidying and work out what has gone. It is worth holding off for a while. Forensic evidence is easiest to recover in the first few hours, and ordinary handling wipes much of it away.
Rather than a vague "don't touch anything", here is what that means in practice:
- Leave the entry point alone: the forced door, the broken window and the area around them.
- Do not pick up anything the intruder may have dropped.
- Keep away from glass or debris near where they got in.
- Avoid using the bathroom, since intruders sometimes do and may have left evidence there.
- Do not handle drawers, door handles or surfaces that have clearly been disturbed.
- Photograph the scene from a distance rather than up close.
Pictures of the entry point and of each room affected help the police, and they help your insurance claim too.
Secure Tonight and Repaired Properly Afterwards
Burglary repairs usually happen in two stages, and knowing that takes some of the pressure off. Work needs police permission; the first visit makes the property safe to leave and sleep in. Sometimes the entrance can be repaired there and then. Sometimes it needs temporary securing, with a temporary lock or boarding, while compatible parts are sourced or a glazier, door or frame specialist is lined up. Which of those applies depends on the condition of the entrance: an immediate repair, a replacement component or boarding.
The second stage is the permanent repair. It follows once the police have finished, the insurer has been told and any parts needed are in hand. Additional work, a replacement part or a return visit is discussed with you separately, and the work and price are confirmed before that next stage begins, so you always know where you stand.
Paperwork for an Insurance Claim
What to keep together
Insurance requirements are not the same everywhere, so it is worth checking your policy and asking your insurer early what evidence they want. Most insurers will want:
- the crime reference number supplied by the police;
- photographs taken according to police guidance;
- your correspondence with the insurer;
- invoices for temporary securing and for the completed repairs.
What we provide
File it alongside the crime reference number and your photos. Tell us before work begins if your insurer requests particular information about the damage, the repair or the locks fitted. The decision on cover is one your insurer will make under the policy.
When Can You Actually Secure the Property?
You are being pulled in two directions, and it helps to say so plainly. The police would like the scene left as it is. Your insurer will expect the property not to be left open. And a home that has been broken into once can be targeted again, because intruders sometimes return for what they could not carry the first time.
So what do you do? Ask the police directly when the entry point can be worked on, whether forensics are attending, and when they expect to attend. If they are coming soon, wait for them. If they cannot get to you until the next day, ring the police non-emergency line and ask whether the property may be secured now; wait for their permission before work. Most insurers expect to be told promptly, so check your policy wording as well.
One detail is rarely mentioned. A locksmith repairing a door has to handle it, and with or without gloves that can disturb marks at the entry point. That is exactly why it is worth asking the police first rather than guessing either way.
What We Repair Following a Break-In
Here is the usual scope of a burglary repair. Forced entry can affect the lock, the door and the hardware around it, so all three are looked at rather than the obvious damage alone.
Doors with door frames
Force at the lock tends to spread into the keep, the strike plate, the edge of the door or the frame around it. That is why a lock-only repair can leave the real weakness behind.
Locks and cylinders
Common finds are drilled locks, snapped cylinders and broken mortice cases. Each is replaced with an equivalent or an upgraded lock to suit the door and any policy requirement. Stolen keys are a separate reason: the affected locks may need changing so those keys are useless.
Mechanisms in uPVC and composite doors
Force applied to these doors can damage the multipoint mechanism, not only the cylinder. A door that still shuts may still need attention.
Windows and their window locks
A forced sash or damaged handle is locksmith work. A broken pane or damaged sealed unit is a job for a glazier, and you will hear that straight away.
Boarding up where this is needed
Temporary boarding makes the opening secure when a permanent door, window or glazing repair cannot be completed at once, and the rest is arranged afterwards.
If the opening cannot be repaired the same day,.
Upgrading Security Following a Break-In
When the property is secure again and you have had time to think, it is worth looking at what the break-in revealed. The entry point is the natural starting place. Forced entry may affect the lock, cylinder, keeps, frame or several of them, and assessing the whole entrance is how you find out whether one part needs replacing or the related hardware does too. That decision needs to take account of any requirement set out in writing by your insurer, landlord or managing agent.
The useful step is to choose the standard that answers the method used. A timber door that was forced: suitable timber doors may use qualifying locks certified to BS 3621, and some policies specify that. A uPVC or composite door with a snapped cylinder: qualifying cylinders may carry SS 312 Diamond certification, and euro cylinders and compatible security hardware may carry TS 007 ratings. These ratings apply to specific products or hardware combinations; they do not certify a complete door or promise compliance with every policy.
You are not obliged to go further than the damage requires, and like for like is always open to you. Some upgrades may be covered by the claim, but ask the insurer or property manager to confirm any required specification in writing before choosing a lock for compliance. See BS 3621 door locks explained and anti-snap locks explained.
Locksmith pricing
Burglary Repairs Across Wilmslow
Break-in repairs for homeowners, tenants, landlords and business premises are attended across Wilmslow, and because a damaged door cannot be left open overnight, calls are taken at any hour. Work on the forced entry point begins only when the police say it may; if they cannot attend tonight, ring 101 and ask whether the property may be secured now.
We work in Lacey Green, Pownall Park, Fulshaw Park, Colshaw Farm, Heathfield Farm and Chorley, and across all of SK9. For context only, 55 burglaries were recorded and mapped to the Wilmslow built-up area in the 12 months 2025-09 to 2026-08, with 89 criminal damage offences (Cheshire Constabulary, via data.police.uk). Wilmslow Park and Davenport Green are mostly houses, so the damage is usually to a household's own front or back door.
Say what was damaged and what the police have told you. Leave cleaning up, and the broken door or window itself, until they say what can be handled. See all areas we cover.
What affects the cost?
Service required, time of attendance, lock and door type, labour and parts.
When You Call: What Happens
Two steps, start to finish.
- You describe the damage and tell us whether the police have allowed work at the entry point, which stays untouched until they do.
- You get the price on that call and a realistic idea of when we can be with you, we aim to be with you in around 30 minutes, though it can take longer depending on where our nearest locksmith is.
Locksmith pricing
What Do Repairs After a Burglary Cost?
What will it cost? That depends on three things above all: the damage, the entrance affected and whether the job can be done now or needs a follow-up visit. In more detail, the price reflects:
- What was damaged and how badly.
- Whether a repair is possible or temporary securing comes first.
- Which locks, cylinders or other parts are needed.
- Whether compatible parts need to be sourced.
- Whether the visit takes place during or outside normal working hours.
Describe the damage on the phone and you will be given a price there and then; it stands unless the job differs on site, with any change explained before the work goes ahead. No call-out fee is added. You pay for the work carried out, any parts needed, and VAT. Rates outside Monday to Friday, 7am to 6pm, are higher, but the call-out itself is never charged.
What affects the cost?
Service required, time of attendance, lock and door type, labour and parts.
Emergency and planned locksmith services
Call Craven Locksmiths Wilmslow
The line is open 24 hours a day and there is no call-out charge. You can call for advice before the police have finished, to learn what the next steps are.
- Call 01625 351018
- Or contact us through the contact page
01625 351018
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I call the police or a locksmith first?
Police first. If someone could still be inside, the break-in may be ongoing or anyone is in immediate danger, dial 999. If not, use the appropriate non-emergency police channel. Ask them whether the damaged door or window needs leaving untouched before any repair or boarding, and let them know if you cannot secure the property. Once you have their crime reference number, ring us; calls are taken 24 hours a day, including for advice while the police are still involved.
Can I secure my door before the police have been?
It depends on what the police tell you, so ask them. Forensics attending shortly? Then wait, because work on a door disturbs marks at the entry point. Police unable to attend until the next day? Ring the police non-emergency line to ask whether the property may be secured now; leave the entry point alone until they allow work.
Will my insurance cover the repairs?
Cover is possible, but your insurer will make the decision on your claim. Report the damage promptly and find out which details or authorisation it needs. Your policy terms, the circumstances and the necessary repairs all matter. Retain permitted photographs alongside your crime reference, insurance correspondence and invoices for repairs.
Do I need to change my locks if nothing was damaged?
When keys have been stolen, yes. A lock in perfect condition still opens for whoever holds its key, so changing the affected locks is how you make the stolen keys stop working. Think about spare keys kept in the house as well; if the intruder had access to them, the same applies. If every key is accounted for and no lock was forced, the locks may need nothing, and we will tell you so.
Can everything be fixed the same night?
Sometimes yes, often no, and either is fine. Once the police authorise work, the priority on the night is a property you can leave and sleep in, using temporary locks or boarding where a full repair must wait. The permanent repair is carried out once the police have finished and any parts have been sourced. Before either stage begins, you are told what it involves and what it costs.
Could they come back?
There is a real chance, so secure the property quickly once the police authorise work. Intruders sometimes go back to the same address within days, particularly when they left items they could not carry. Getting the entry point properly repaired, instead of leaving it temporarily boarded for weeks, is the practical response. There is no need to be alarmed about it tonight.
My uPVC door was forced but it still closes. Is it damaged?
Maybe, and closing is not a reliable test. The multipoint mechanism in a forced uPVC door is frequently damaged while the door and frame look undamaged, and the first sign is often a handle that will not lift a few days later. The door may still need attention. If force was applied at the lock, assume the mechanism absorbed it and have it inspected.
What if the frame is damaged as well as the lock?
That happens a lot. Forcing a door at the lock usually splits the frame around the keep, which means a lock-only repair leaves the weak point in place. Where the frame is repairable, it is repaired in the same visit. Where it needs more, the property is secured first and the remaining work completed later, by a carpenter or door specialist if it involves major joinery.
Still have a question or need urgent assistance? Call 01625 351018, tell us what has happened and receive a current arrival estimate.