Home insurance provider Swinton has warned home owners to be extra careful ahead of their half term break this February, and not to advertise their trip on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.

As many families across the UK gear up for the first holiday of the year during February half term, Swinton is recommending that home owners ensure their home is well secured before embarking on their trip, and also advises against announcing their upcoming break on social media sites in case the information gets into the wrong hands.

There has been a steady rise in the number of over 40’s using social networks such as Facebook and Twitter over the last few years, and the danger with this is that people often like to share their holiday plans online, but this has a knock-on effect of advertising that their home will be empty, which leaves an open invitation to burglars.

A survey conducted by Swinton found that 22% of the 1,200 customers it polled had announced their holiday plans on a social network.

However the survey also found that 17% of those questioned had returned home from work to find that they had forgotten to lock their home properly, or set their alarm. The home insurer warns that if this occurred while the occupants were on holiday, it’s likely it would invalidate their insurance policy.