Make sure you cancel any regular deliveries, such as your daily newspaper or milk. Don’t order anything online that may arrive while you’re away. An undelivered parcel sitting outside your home is a sure sign no one’s there.

If there’s no helpful neighbour to hand, Royal Mail offers a Keepsafe service that will hold you mail for up to 100 days and deliver it to you once you’re home.

If you’re going away for a fortnight, the service will look after your post for 17 days for just £17.

Keep your valuables out of sight or lock them away if possible. Having a safe secured to a permanent fixture could be a good investment and it’s a safe place to store your valuables while you’re away. Just make sure it’s well fixed as small safes can easily be carried away by thieves and are an obvious target if found.

Home buildings insurance typically covers an empty house for up to 30 days. If you’re intending on staying away for longer, you’ll need to tell your insurance provider, or your policy may be invalid.  

For more than 30 days, consider unoccupied property insurance which could cover your home for longer periods against fire, flood and storm damage, vandalism and theft or attempted theft.