Millions of countryside dwellers are not taking adequate steps to protect their homes, according to Halifax Home Insurance’s first ‘Latch-Key Index’.

Almost a third of rural households, about 3.5 million people, leave their doors unlocked most days, compared to just one in 10 urbanites.

Also, over eight million of Britain’s rural residents don’t use a burglar alarm (70%) – with many of these homeowners (11%) saying the ‘don’t see the point’ of having one.

56% of rural dwellers trust a friend or neighbour to check on the property when they’re away, compared to just 43% in urban areas.

However, with countryside crime rising at twice the rate of urban crime, the home insurer is calling on rural homeowners to take simple steps to make burglar’s lives harder and protect themselves against crime.

In the last 12 months, 13% of dwellers was a victim of crime, with vandalism (39%) and burglary (13%) among the most common incidents. Furthermore, cases of burglary rise by 30% during the festive period, as criminals target homes full of Christmas gifts. The cost to the homeowner is also greater during this time of year, with presents increasing homeowner’s losses by around £520 to an average of £2,680.

Yet awareness in the countryside remains low, with a third of countryside residents believing that it’s unlikely that they’ll be burgled (33%) and a similar number oblivious to the rate at which rural crime is growing (29%).