Your home is 11 per cent more likely to be burgled during the winter months than the rest of the year, new research has revealed.

Despite 50 per cent of Brits feeling most concerned about the safety of their homes while on holiday, burglars favour the cover of darker evenings over the increased numbers of empty homes found in July and August.

MoneySuperMarket reached their conclusions by combining crime data from the last five years with home insurance figures and the views of the British public.

They found that despite 39 per cent of Brits double locking their doors, these remain the entry point in 74 per cent of burglaries.

In the majority of cases the burglar gained access by forcing the locks - though 15 per cent simply walked through an unlocked door.

Window locks are the most commonly used home security precaution, favoured by 90 per cent of Brits, followed by double locks or deadlocks (84 per cent) and light timers or sensors (56 per cent).

Burglar alarms were used by just a third (34 per cent). 58 per cent said that their first reaction on hearing an alarm would be to look out of the window, while 10 per cent said they’d call the police.

And while 48 per cent thought their tech gadgets would be the first thing a burglar would pounce on, the most commonly stolen items taken during 2017 were purses, wallets and money.

Tom Flack, Editor-in-Chief at MoneySuperMarket, said it was especially important to protect your home at this time of year, as “research reveals that over half of burglaries take place during the evening or night”.