Freedom Day came and went and, for most of us, mask-wearing, socially distant life carried on as before.

For me, true freedom means the ability to travel wherever I wish, and while that may not yet be a reality, holidays are at least on the agenda this summer.

Whether you're getting set for a UK staycation, or navigating the government's confusing traffic light system for more complicated holiday abroad, the joy of simply being somewhere other than home will be something else.

But one thing you may not have thought about in these long lockdown days is home security.

After all, who needs to worry about burglar alarms when the house is packed full of people isolating or generally working from home?

According to a new study by insurance comparison site Quotezone.co.uk, more than two thirds of Brits (73 per cent) have no alarm system in place.

And with summer hols typically leading to a spike in burglaries, now might be the time to reassess.

It's fair to say that burglars have been one of the casualties of Covid, with all those ever-present homeowners making break ins more challenging than ever. Apparently, burglaries fell by 28 per cent as a direct result of lockdown — one of the few silver linings of this whole sorry saga.

Top tips include investing in light timers and external security lights, setting up cameras or alarm systems that are clearly visible to potential burglars and not sharing snaps of yourself poolside all over social media.

Many alarms will alert you to any potential intruder via your mobile phone, potentially resulting in your longed-for break being interrupted by live burglar action. But better to catch them in the act than not.

We used to have a hyper sensitive motion-activated system that incessantly messaged us on holiday with news of branches swaying slightly in the garden. We ended up turned off the alerts because they were so annoying. A more high-tech service would avoid this, or so the experts tell me.

But regardless of whether your home security is fool — or branch — proof, after the shambles that 2021's been so far I'd say a longed for holiday is totally a risk worth taking.