I was walking to work recently when the burglar alarm of a house on the other side of the road suddenly sprang into life with a strident alarm that cut through the birds singing on a beautiful spring morning.

I wasn't sure what to do.

There was no obvious sign of activity but the alarm kept on ringing. My own system is such that the bell will keeping going for about 20 minutes and then cease, leaving just the tell-tale changed colour of the flashing light underneath the box. My neighbours know that the procedure we have agreed is that, if they hear the bell, they will stand at the gate and look for anything obviously untoward and, if something doesn't feel right, then call the police on their non-emergency number. Otherwise, to give me a call and I will come home. Under no circumstances are any of the elderly residents to enter the house or attempt to tackle any possible intruders.

The problem is that, whether they're wired or wirefree, burglar alarms do sometimes malfunction to produce a false alarm.

Fortunately, I had the number of the local police station on my mobile and, not seeing any of the neighbours springing into action, I was able to contact them to report the incident. I didn't want to just walk on by and allow some petty thief to get away with any valuables. I am told that the most obvious sign is someone leaving the house with a bag or a pillow case - a receptacle that is readily availalble, capacious enough to hold items of all shapes and sizes and easily discarded without leaving too many tell-tale forensic clues.

The advice from the Ask The Police UK site is as follows:

The Police will attend alarms installed in line with the ACPO Alarms Policy. The majority of domestic alarms do not comply with that policy by virtue of the fact they are audible only systems.

The Police will also respond to domestic alarms, when there is some evidence of criminal activity. Should there be an activation and there is evidence of criminal activity or you see something suspicious, dial 999. It is not advisable to put yourself in danger by making checks yourself.

If it appears to be a false activation, still contact the police but on their non-emergency number as they may have the owners contact details on their database.

If it is a persistent problem see the question in related information about noisy neighbours.

Spy Alarms have won the prestigious Metropolitan Police Award for the least number of false alarms three times, as well as the Custodian Gold Shield for Alarm Management Effectiveness.

These are public affirmations of a quality control system that ensures all products used have been tested by our Technical Team prior to being used on any security installation. Effectiveness and reliability are key to our reputation as market-leading burglar alarms installers in the Kent, London and the South East.