BEFORE walking out of the front door or going to bed at night most people check to make sure all their doors and windows are locked.

And it seems residents across Swindon are doing a great job, as the town has been named as the second safest place for household theft by insurance provider Endsleigh.

According to figures in the company's latest Homes Report, residents in the town are 50 per cent less likely to make a claim than the average policyholder.

It means Swindon is the second safest place in the country for burglaries, beaten only by Guildford.

The figures, which reveal the UK's top 10 safest and riskiest towns for both burglaries and accidents, were collected after the firm analysed theft claims across the UK over the last four years.

Different areas of the country were then compared to find out where the safest places were.

Endsleigh spokesman Stuart Wartalski said the town was doing a good job of keeping burglary rates down.

"Swindon is a great example of where local authorities, working hand in hand with the community, have played a key role in bringing down crime," he said.

"Nevertheless, there is no room for complacency and there are still simple precautions that all individuals should take to avoid being victims of burglary themselves.

"It is crucial that, as well as getting involved in neighbourhood safety schemes where they can, people across the country remain vigilant when it comes to home security."

PC Iain Crouch, of the Swindon Crime Targeting Team said that it was great news for the town.

"We have a dedicated team that deals with burglaries," he said.

"We have a special car that goes out to deal with victims of burglary straight away so we have a quick response time.

"Because of the dedicated team we can give that extra bit of care towards the victims."

PC Crouch said that once the CTT had visited victims, they were then referred to the Wiltshire Bobby Van mobile van service, which helps to crime-proof vulnerable residents' homes by installing a range of security measures free of charge.

He added that people should always make sure that doors and windows on ground floors were secure when nobody was in the room, particularly during the warmer months, and that residents should mark massed produced items, such as DVD players and games consoles, with a UV pen so that if they are recovered their owners can be traced.

Anyone who would like advice about home security can call the team on 01793 507912.