A Yorkshire plumber has come up with a patented idea of how to deter van thieves and protect the van and its valuable on-board assets.
Michael Horsfall’s invention, Vanguardian, is a zonal based alarm system designed to stop theft before it even starts.
The heating engineer from Leeds spent more than two years developing the flexible, multi-point alarm system to protect everything from the roof racks down to the body of the van. It deters thieves by emitting a 110db alarm.
Michael has more than 30 years’ experience as a self-employed plumbing and heating engineer.
He said: “I was driven to look at van crime from a completely different perspective, using my own experience. I recognised, for example, that an unalarmed pipe carrier drew the wrong kind of attention from thieves, so I initially designed Vanguardian as a unique affordable, security alarm to protect a pipe carrier to prevent copper pipe theft and then I developed the Zonal system of protection and progressed to effectively protecting the fabric of the vehicle from criminal damage and protecting the tools and assets on board.”
The device is attached with 3M waterproof high-bond contact adhesive tape. Once the Vanguardian alarm is activated, any unauthorised attempted removal will trigger an alarm response.
“Factory-fitted alarms or devices that fit inside the vehicle are either ineffective because they cannot be heard or they only work after the doors have been forced open and damage has been done, and tools at risk from a swift hand and gone. The Vanguardian instead provides at first a visible deterrent that if ignored activates an alarm upon sensing first contact, before damage is done and before the doors are open. This gives van owners an early warning and motivates the thieves to move on or risk been confronted,” added Michael.