An Englishman's Home is his Castle - But how Many People Have Keys to it?

An Estimated two Billion Keys in Circulation and Millions of Homes Potentially Left Unsecure

LONDON, April 22, 2011 - With the announcement of a 14 per cent increase in burglaries, new
research commissioned by key safe specialist, Master Lock, has found that one
in ten people have been burgled due to misplaced or stolen spare keys.

The survey of 1,000 homeowners also revealed that a staggering one in
five still hide their spare key outside the home in unsecure locations
including under bins and, rather than relying on neighbours to keep their
spare keys safe. Furthermore, a third would prefer to break into their own
home if they were locked out with another third of the population electing to
undertake up to a 20 mile round trip to retrieve their keys from relatives.

The research indentified that over half of the adult population have been
given the responsibility for at least one other person's spare keys. Of
these, it was revealed that almost a third admitted to having never checked
their whereabouts and a further 56 per cent haven't checked in over six
months - leaving an estimated two billion keys in circulation and millions of
homes potentially unsecure.

Urging homeowners to address the need for improvements in key management
and to prevent the risk a misplaced key could cause, Andy Culhane, sales
director of Master Lock UK remarks:

"The sentiment behind the old saying an Englishman's home is his castle
seems to have been lost as the survey shows a distinct carelessness when it
comes to protecting who has access to it. What's more, should we really be
placing such a high responsibility on neighbours, friends and relatives with
our largest personal asset?

"Being locked out of your home is at the very best a costly
inconvenience, but at worst poor key management could leave both you and your
loved ones at risk. We are therefore urging all homeowners to really think
about the best form of key management - if nothing else, this survey proves
that failure to do so could be more costly than you'd think."

The survey marks the launch of Master Lock's new range of reinforced
Select Access(TM) key safes, which offer practical and convenient solutions
to spare key management and includes the UK's first electronic Key Safe with
a Sold Secure Key Cabinet Silver rating.

For more information on Master Lock's Select Access range of key safes
visit www.masterlock.eu

Founded 1921, Master Lock is the world's largest manufacturer of padlocks
and UK's leading Key Safe manufacturer. The Master Lock Select Access range
offers a convenient solution to spare key management by housing spare keys
securely outside the home or business.

Media contacts: Issued by Golley Slater PR on behalf of Master Lock. For further information,
please contact Paul Amourdedieu on +44(0)1943-48-88-11, +44(0)7772174517 or email paul.amourdedieu at golleyslater.co.uk