Burglary repairs
Burglary Repairs in Hastings
Call with your postcode for a current arrival estimate.
- 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 anyone else, including us, and do not start any work at the entry point until they say it may begin.
After that, B.T Locksmiths Hastings repairs the damage and makes the property secure again, 24 hours a day in Hastings. You can ring for advice even before the police have finished, so you know what happens next. See also emergency locksmith.
Before Touching Anything
Most people want to put things back in order the moment they walk in and find the place disturbed. That is understandable, but the first hours are when forensic evidence is easiest to recover, and every item moved or wiped makes it harder.
A few specific things help far more than a general warning to touch nothing:
- Take photographs, but from a distance rather than close up.
- Leave any handles, drawers and surfaces that have obviously been disturbed exactly as they are.
- Do not touch the door that was forced, the window that was broken or anything else at the point of entry.
- Steer clear of broken glass and debris near the way in.
- Leave anything the intruder may have dropped where it lies.
- Hold off using the bathroom: intruders sometimes use it, and they may have left evidence behind.
Your photographs of the entry point and every room that was affected will be useful to the police and to your insurer alike.
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,.
Secure Tonight, Properly Repaired Afterwards
There is a common worry after a break-in that everything has to be fixed tonight, all at once. It does not. The first visit makes the property safe to leave and sleep in, but work requires police permission. Some damaged entrances can be repaired on that visit, while others need temporary securing until compatible parts are sourced or separate glazing, door or frame work is arranged. The entrance’s condition guides the work, which may involve repairing it straight away, replacing a component or fitting temporary boarding.
The permanent repair follows once the police have finished, the insurer has been told and the parts needed have been sourced. A separate discussion covers any further repair, replacement component or follow-up visit. You are told which stage you are at and what it involves before either is done, and the work and price are confirmed before the next stage begins. See also lock replacement.
When Is It Possible to Secure Your Property?
When can a forced door actually be fixed? It depends on the police, and you are entitled to ask them. That matters because three things are pulling against each other at once: the police want the scene left alone, your insurer will expect the property not to be left open, and a property that has been entered once can be returned to, since intruders sometimes come back for what they could not carry.
Ask the police when they expect to attend and whether forensics are coming at all. If someone is attending soon, hold on until they have been. If they cannot be with you until the next day, ring the police non-emergency line and ask whether you may secure the property now; work must wait for their permission.
It is also worth knowing that a locksmith working on the door will be handling it, and that can disturb marks at the entry point whether gloves are worn or not. Ask first rather than assume either way. Separately, most insurers expect to be told promptly, so check your policy wording as soon as you can.
Insurance Claim Paperwork
Most insurers will want three kinds of evidence after a break-in: the police record, proof of the damage and an invoice for the repair. Requirements differ from one insurer to the next, though, so read your policy, contact the insurer promptly and ask exactly what they need. A sensible file includes:
- Your crime reference number from the police.
- Photographs, taken as the police advise.
- Letters or emails from your insurer.
- Invoices covering both the temporary securing and the finished repair.
Where your insurer requests specific details about the damage, repair or locks fitted, let us know before work begins. What is covered is something your insurer will decide, not the locksmith.
When You Call: What Happens
Calling us after a break-in in Hastings works like this.
- Say what is damaged and whether the police have given the go-ahead for work, since the entry point must stay untouched until then.
- Hear the price on the call and an honest arrival estimate, we aim to be with you in around 30 minutes, though it can take longer depending on where our nearest locksmith is.
Locksmith pricing
Security Upgrades After a Break-In
Think of this section as information to come back to, not a recommendation for tonight. A break-in shows plainly how a property's security performed, and the entry point is where to look first. Since forced entry may affect the lock, the cylinder, the keeps, the frame or more than one of these, a look at the complete entrance helps tell whether replacing one part will do or whether the related hardware also needs attention.
Specific standards answer specific attacks. Suitable timber doors may use qualifying locks certified to BS 3621, the standard some policies specify for a forced timber door. Euro cylinders and compatible security hardware may carry TS 007 ratings, while qualifying cylinders may carry SS 312 Diamond certification, which is what addresses a snapped cylinder. These ratings apply to individual products or hardware combinations. They neither certify the complete door nor guarantee compliance with every policy.
A more extensive upgrade is not automatically required; replacing like for like is a perfectly reasonable choice, and some of the work may be covered by your claim. Take any written requirement from your insurer, landlord or managing agent into account, and ask for the required specification in writing before choosing a lock for compliance purposes. More in BS 3621 door locks explained and anti-snap locks explained.
What affects the cost?
Service required, time of attendance, lock and door type, labour and parts.
Locksmith pricing
What Is the Cost of Burglary Repairs?
Every burglary repair in Hastings is priced individually. The cost depends on what was damaged, which entrance it was and whether the work is immediate or follow-up. The price is shaped by:
- what type of damage there is, and how much;
- whether a repair or temporary securing is needed;
- the locks, cylinders or other components involved;
- whether compatible replacement parts need sourcing;
- whether the visit is in normal working hours or out of hours.
You get a price during the call from your description; it stands unless the job differs, with changes explained before work. We do not add a call-out fee, and you pay for the labour, parts and work you agree to. 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.
Burglary Repairs Across Hastings
We attend break-in repairs for homeowners, tenants, landlords and business premises across Hastings, because a property cannot be left open overnight.
We cover every postcode in TN34, TN38, TN37 and TN35 and the parts of TN33 around Hastings, among them Hollington, Broomgrove, Bohemia, Old Town, West Hill and St Leonards Green, a built-up area of around 91,800 usual residents (Census 2021, ONS). Flats are common around St Leonards Green, West Hill and Old Town (Census 2021, ONS, output areas within 700 m), where the door that was forced may be a shared one and a landlord or managing agent may need to be involved.
Sussex Police recorded 339 burglaries across Hastings in the 12 months from September 2025 to August 2026 (data.police.uk). Report a break-in to Sussex Police on 101 or at https://www.sussex.police.uk and get a crime reference before you claim; if the police cannot attend that night, ring 101 and ask whether the property may be secured now. Once they say the entry point is free, we can make the door secure and fit a lock your insurer will accept.
See all areas we cover.
Emergency and planned locksmith services
Call B.T Locksmiths Hastings
Phone lines are open 24 hours a day and there is no call-out charge. If the police have not finished, you can still call for advice on what comes next.
- Phone: 01424 571056
- Available: 24 hours a day, every day
01424 571056
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I call the police or a locksmith first?
The police, always. Call 999 if the break-in may still be in progress, someone could be inside or anyone is in immediate danger; otherwise report it through the police non-emergency route. They give you a crime reference number for your insurer. Ask whether the damaged entrance must stay untouched before repairs or boarding, and tell them if the property cannot be secured. Then call us: the line is open 24 hours, so you can ring for advice before they have finished.
Can I secure my door before the police have been?
Possibly, but ask the police before you do anything. A short wait makes sense if forensics are attending soon, because work on the door can disturb marks at the entry point. If they cannot attend until the following day, ring the police non-emergency line to ask whether securing can start now. Any work at the entry point must wait for their go-ahead.
Will my insurance cover the repairs?
Payment depends on your cover, and the insurer will confirm its decision. Tell it about the damage promptly rather than waiting for completed repairs. Ask which evidence and approvals are needed for the particular circumstances and work. Hold on to the crime reference, permitted photographs, claim correspondence and repair invoices.
Do I need to change my locks if nothing was damaged?
Yes, where keys were taken. The concern is not damage but access: anyone with those keys can return. Replacing the affected locks puts an end to that. It is also sensible if spare keys stored in the house were accessible to the intruder. If no keys are missing and no lock has been forced, the locks may be fine as they are, and you will hear that plainly if it is the case.
Can everything be fixed the same night?
Sometimes, but it does not have to be. With police permission, some entrances can be repaired on the first visit; others are secured with a temporary lock or boarding so the property is safe to leave and sleep in. The permanent work comes later, once the police are done and parts have been sourced. Before anything starts, you hear which stage it is and what it costs.
Could they come back?
It can happen, which is a reason to secure the property promptly after police permission. Intruders sometimes come back to the same address within days, often for items they could not carry the first time. The calm, practical answer is a proper repair at the entry point, rather than temporary boarding left in place for weeks.
My uPVC door was forced but it still closes. Is it damaged?
There is a fair chance, yes. When a uPVC door is forced, the multipoint mechanism often takes damage that cannot be seen from outside, even with the door and frame looking intact. It may not show until days later, typically as a handle that will not lift. Because it was forced at the lock, the sensible course is to have the mechanism checked.
What if the frame is damaged as well as the lock?
That is a very common combination, since a door forced at the lock usually splits the frame around the keep. Fixing the lock without the frame leaves the weakness exactly where it was. Repairable frames are sorted at the same time. If the frame needs more than one visit allows, the property is secured first and the frame completed on return, or by a carpenter or door specialist if major joinery is required.
Still have a question or need urgent assistance? Call 01424 571056, tell us what has happened and receive a current arrival estimate.