Your guide to safe and secure fencing

One of the key elements for consideration when buying fence panels should be the level of security in your garden. Some may purchase a fence based on style only, neglecting the safety that it can provide for the garden. With the summer holidays also upon us, there is currently all the more reason to protect your property and family.

A lot of people see the garden fence as a property divide only, and one that preferably looks nice would be a bonus. What can be forgotten is that this is the first thing that intruders see – how easy is it to get over the fence and into the garden?

Often, it can be the case that the height of your fencing can be deterrent enough. With panels that are 6ft (1.83m) and above in height there is a certain degree of security, but you should also consider how easy the panel is to scale: are there parts of the panel, such as horizontal battens, that an intruder may be able to use as a foothold? For this reason, it is always worth considering re-enforcing your fencing.

With trellis-style fence toppers, there are a number of benefits for your security. Firstly, the added height increases difficulty for an intruder, as well as risk of injury. Should an intruder attempt to climb over, the topper is unlikely to take the weight of a fully-grown person - putting the intruder off further. Being higher up and having visible holes, the trellis-style topper means there is also more chance of the intruder being seen by you or a neighbour.

The two styles of fence topper that we offer are the Convex and the Diamond Lattice.

Here are a few more tips to think about with fence security:

- Accessorising your fencing with barbed wire might seem a little overboard, as well as dangerous and unattractive – how about some sharp-stem roses to adorn your fence tops? A little imagination is always useful in garden security.

- Think about covering as many bases as you can: make a potential intruder as visible as possible with high fences, and possibly a generally open garden layout so you can see most of it from the house. A side benefit of using gravel in the garden is that intruders can be better heard to you and your neighbours.

- While extra fence height is a great way of increasing security, it should be noted that planning permission may be needed for fencing above 2m (6’7”) in the back garden and 1m (3’3”) in the front garden. For more information on this simply contact your local planning office.

- It would be a good idea to maintain a good rapport with your surrounding neighbours – keep an eye on each other’s properties and be safe!

Be sure to take a look at our high level fencing or watch our video below for more information on the fencing options we offer.