Staying safe in your home

Hampshire Trading Standards Buy with Confidence scheme has lists of reliable gardeners. Search online or call 01392 383430 (10.00am to 3.30pm, Monday to Friday). When asking for quotes, remember to ask if there is a cost to remove any garden refuse and if specific gardening equipment is needed. Find out exactly what they will and will not do (for example, not all gardening services offer hedge cutting).

Some smaller local gardeners may not be registered with Buy with Confidence. If you cannot find anyone to help, you can also search Connect to Support Hampshire’s Marketplace Directory. Visit

www.connecttosupporthampshire.org.uk/

marketplace (select ‘Home support’).

Utility suppliers and household emergencies

• Southern Electric and Gas offers extra help and advice to customers who are elderly, disabled or have special medical needs. To join its Priority

Service Register, call 0800 622 838.

• British Gas offers priority services for people who are elderly or disabled. Call 0800 072 8625.

• BT has online information and advice for people with a disability or impairment. Visit www.bt.com/help/here-for-you or call 0800 800 150.

• BT has a free Priority Fault Repair Scheme for people who rely on the telephone for health or mobility reasons. Call 0800 800 150.

• Southern Water offers services for people who have extra needs and help for people having difficulty paying their bills. Call 0800 027 0800.

Household emergencies – who to call

Bournemouth Water

Emergency helpline: 0344 346 2020

Citizens Advice consumer helpline

Call for a local electrical contractor. Tel: 0808 223 1133

Floodline

Phone the Environment Agency’s Floodline to sign up for flood warnings and get simple advice on what to do before, during and after a flood. Tel: 0345 988 1188

National Gas Emergency Number

Tel: 0800 111 999

National Power Cut Helpline

Tel: 105

Portsmouth Water

Emergency Line: 023 9247 7999

South East Water

Emergency Line: 0333 000 0365

Southern Water

Emergency Line: 0330 303 0368

Caring for your pet

There is ample support available in Hampshire to ensure your pets are well looked after. See page 95 for a list of organisations that can help.

Security

Tips and advice: • Make sure you secure windows and doors before you leave the house.

• If you are in the garden or upstairs, make sure your downstairs doors are locked, and that you have a key with you to get in or out in a hurry.

• Fit window locks and keep the keys in a safe place. • Display your burglar alarm and Neighbourhood

Watch sticker prominently. • Put up a warning sign for visitors if you have a dog as this will deter thieves.

• Keep valuable items out of view. Don’t leave keys under a doormat or on a string through the letterbox. Burglars expect this.

Hampshire Constabulary have comprehensive online advice and top tips about crime prevention.

You can also receive free crime and community information about where you live by signing up to Hampshire Alert. Call 0115 924 5517 or visit

www.hampshirealert.co.uk

If you have problems with home security, answering the door, fitting a door chain or a key safe, there are services that can help:

• The Hampshire Bobby Scheme provides free home security and safety checks to anyone in Hampshire who is vulnerable, disabled or over the age of 65. This service is also available to those most vulnerable due to disability or long-term illness. Call 0300 777 0157. A policeapproved key safe can also be fitted for a donation of £75.

• Your borough or district council’s housing department can let you know if there is a local

Home Improvement agency or Handyman scheme that can help you.

Fire safety

Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire & Rescue Service (HIWFRS) recommends that you have at least one smoke alarm on every level of your home and ideally in all rooms except your kitchen and bathroom. It is important that you regularly check that alarms are not clogged by dust and that you test that their batteries work.

Plan how you would get out of the house in an emergency. Your working smoke alarm will give you early warning of a fire. You should get out of the house, call the Fire Service and stay out.

Find out more about fire safety in the home. Visit www.hantsfire.gov.uk/safety and select ‘At home’. HIWFRS will also do home safety visits to assess any risks in your home and advise you.

You can make a Safe and Well visit referral on the HIWFRS website. Visit www.hantsfire.gov.uk and search ‘safe and well’ or call the Community Safety Team on 023 8062 6751. you should consider fitting strobe light and vibrating-pad smoke alarms. Contact the RNID information line on 0808 808 0123 or textphone 18001 then 0808 808 0123.

The Government has produced leaflets on fire safety for people with sight, hearing or mobility difficulties. Visit www.gov.uk and search ‘fire safety for disabled people’.

Scams

Hampshire Trading Standards warns that an estimated three million people fall victim to scams each year. Scams such as bogus lotteries, prize draws and miracle health cures arrive by post or telephone and target older people and the vulnerable, often leading to debt and in some cases, depression.

Always be sceptical about any unsolicited offers and never part with money or give your bank or credit card details to obtain a prize or an offer that is too good to be true. Don’t be rushed into making an instant decision and don’t ring premium rate numbers (starting 090) to claim a prize or arrange a parcel delivery.

For further advice or if you are worried that you, or someone close to you, has been a victim of a scam, contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 0808 223 1133. Visit www.hants.gov.uk (search ‘scams’) for the latest information and advice on scams and doorstep crime in Hampshire.

Hampshire Constabulary has further information about fraud and how you can report it. Visit www.hampshire.police.uk (search ‘fraud’).

You can also receive free crime and community information about where you live by signing up to Hampshire Alert. Visit www.hampshirealert.co.uk

Online fraud and cyber crime

As the internet has become part of our daily lives, online fraud has increased – from email scams to fake holiday sites to identity fraud. Read the information and advice from Hampshire Constabulary on how to protect yourself from these types of scams. Visit www.hampshire.police.uk (search ‘online fraud’).