Burglary repairs
Burglary Repairs in Consett
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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
If you think someone may still be inside, or the property looks unsafe, do not go in: call 999. Once you know it is safe, call the police before you call anyone else, us included.
Only then do we come in: Rapid Locksmiths Consett repairs the damage and makes the property secure again, 24 hours a day. You can ring us for advice before the police have finished, so you know what happens next, but no work starts at the entry point until the police say it may. If they cannot attend that night, ring 101 and ask whether the property may be secured now.
First, Before You Touch Anything
It is hard to walk into a disturbed home and not start putting it right. Still, try to leave things as they are for now: forensic evidence is at its easiest to recover in the first hours, and it does not survive being handled.
The useful version of "don't touch anything" is more specific:
- Keep your hands off the point of entry, including the forced door or the broken pane.
- Leave the bathroom unused for the time being, because intruders sometimes use one and can leave evidence in it.
- Do not move anything the intruder might have dropped.
- Walk around, not through, the glass and debris near the entry point.
- Leave alone any drawer, handle or surface that has clearly been gone through.
- Photograph rooms from the doorway rather than close up.
Photos of where they got in and of every room they went through are worth having for the police and for your insurance claim. There is more in the full guide to what to do after a burglary.
Repaired Properly Afterwards, Secure Tonight
Late at night, aim for a secure home, with work starting only after police permission. The entrance’s condition determines whether the initial visit might include repairing it straight away, replacing a component or fitting temporary boarding. Some damaged doors and windows can be put right on that visit. For other entrances, temporary security is put in place pending suitable parts being located or separate work on the glazing, door or frame being organised.
After that comes the permanent job, once the police are done, your insurer knows and any parts have been sourced. Before either stage you are told which one you are at and what it involves. Any extra repair, part or return visit is talked through separately, and the work and its price are confirmed before the next stage starts. For more, see emergency boarding up and lock replacement.
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?
Should you leave everything for the police, or get the door secured now? It is tempting to pick one answer, but the honest position is that both concerns are valid. The police need the scene as undisturbed as possible. Your insurer will expect that the property has not been left open. And there is a real risk of a return visit, because intruders sometimes come back for items they could not carry first time.
The practical step is a phone call. Ask the police whether forensics are attending, when they expect to attend, and when the entry point can be worked on. A short wait is worth it if they are coming soon. If they cannot attend until the next day, ring the police non-emergency line to ask whether securing may start now; leave the entry point untouched until they agree.
Why does the order matter so much? Because a locksmith repairing a door handles it, and gloves or no gloves, that can disturb marks at the entry point. Most insurers expect to be told promptly, so check your policy wording once you have spoken to the police.
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,.
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
Burglary Repairs Across Consett
We attend break-in repairs for homeowners, tenants, landlords and business premises across Consett, because a property cannot sensibly be left open overnight. That covers every postcode in DH8, including Benfieldside, Shotley Bridge, Templetown, Blackhill, Bridgehill and Bridgehill Circular, all of them mostly houses (Census 2021, ONS; indicative), in a town of around 29,900 usual residents at the 2021 Census (ONS built-up area).
Reports go to Durham Constabulary on 101 or at durham.police.uk, and you should get a crime reference before you claim on insurance. For context, Durham Constabulary recorded 68 burglaries mapped to the Consett built-up area between September 2025 and August 2026 (data.police.uk).
Source: Durham Constabulary records published on data.police.uk (OGL v3), Sep 2025 to Aug 2026. Counts are anonymised records mapped inside the Consett built-up area, not a measure of the risk to any one home.
What affects the cost?
Service required, time of attendance, lock and door type, labour and parts.
After a Break-In: Upgrading Security
Once the immediate repair is done, you may want to consider whether the entrance should be stronger than before. There is no rush. The break-in has shown how the property's security held up, and the obvious place to start is where they got in. Forced entry may affect the lock, cylinder, keeps and frame together or separately, and reviewing the whole entrance helps establish whether one replacement part is enough.
For timber doors, BS 3621 is the standard to know: suitable timber doors may use qualifying locks certified to it, and some policies specify it. For uPVC and composite doors where the cylinder was snapped, TS 007 and SS 312 Diamond are the marks that matter, since euro cylinders and compatible security hardware may carry TS 007 ratings and qualifying cylinders may carry SS 312 Diamond certification. These ratings apply to particular products or hardware combinations and do not extend to the door as a whole or guarantee compliance with every insurance policy.
Like for like is a valid choice, and a more extensive upgrade is not automatically required. Some of this may be covered by the claim. If your insurer, landlord or managing agent has a written requirement, consider it, and ask them to confirm the specification in writing before you pick a lock for compliance. Background reading: BS 3621 door locks explained; anti-snap locks explained.
Locksmith pricing
What Do Burglary Repairs Cost?
The honest answer is that it depends, and here is on what. Burglary repair costs turn on the damage, the entrance affected and whether the work is immediate or follow-up:
- The type and extent of the damage.
- Repair or temporary securing.
- Locks, cylinders and other components.
- Sourcing compatible replacement parts, if needed.
- Normal working hours versus out of hours.
We give you a price on the call. That price is based on your description and stays the same unless the job turns out different on site; you are told about any change before work starts. There is no separate call-out fee, and the bill is for the labour, parts and work agreed with you. 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. Claiming on insurance?
What affects the cost?
Service required, time of attendance, lock and door type, labour and parts.
Emergency and planned locksmith services
Call Rapid Locksmiths Consett
Ring 01207 763119 when you are ready: we answer 24 hours a day, there is no call-out charge, and you can ask what happens next even if the police have not finished.
- Phone: 01207 763119
01207 763119
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I call the police or a locksmith first?
Call the police before anyone else. Use 999 when the intruder may still be there, someone could be inside or a person is in immediate danger, and the non-emergency police channel otherwise. They issue the crime reference number your insurer will ask for. Check with them whether the damaged entrance should be left untouched before repairs or boarding, and tell them if you cannot secure the property. Then ring us; we answer 24 hours a day.
Can I secure my door before the police have been?
The first step is to ask the police. Where forensics are attending shortly, waiting is worthwhile, because working on a door disturbs marks at the entry point. Where the police cannot attend until the next day, contact the police non-emergency line and ask whether the property can be secured now. Securing only begins once the police agree.
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?
Missing keys are the deciding factor. If any were taken, change the affected locks so they no longer work, because the lock being undamaged is not the point; the person with the key can simply return. Do the same if the intruder could have reached spare keys kept indoors. Where no keys are missing and no lock was forced, the locks may be fine, and we will tell you if that is what we find.
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?
It does happen now and then. Some intruders return to the same property within days, particularly for items they had to leave because they could not carry them. So once the police give permission, secure the property promptly, then properly repair the entry point rather than leaving boarding for weeks. Treat it as a reason to plan the repair, not a reason for alarm.
My uPVC door was forced but it still closes. Is it damaged?
Quite possibly. The multipoint mechanism inside a uPVC door can be damaged by forced entry without any visible sign on the door or frame. Often the first clue comes days later, when the handle will not lift. So even though it closes, the door may still need attention, and if it was forced at the lock, assume the mechanism took the strain.
What if the frame is damaged as well as the lock?
Then both need dealing with, and that is a common situation. A door forced at the lock usually splits the frame around the keep, so replacing the lock alone leaves the weakness behind. Frames that can be repaired are fixed at the same time. If more work is needed than one visit allows, the property is secured first and the frame finished later; major joinery may call for a carpenter or door specialist.
Still have a question or need urgent assistance? Call 01207 763119, tell us what has happened and receive a current arrival estimate.