1. Store the number of a top-class auto locksmith in your mobile phone. When you’re standing outside your locked Vauxhall in the pouring rain, having lost or damaged your key, you’ll want help as quickly as possible. If you live anywhere near Skelmersdale, Ormskirk, Parbold or Shevington, the number you need is: 07742 900 070.

Please don’t damage your locked car by trying to break in yourself. And remember, ordinary property locksmiths cannot help you. Only a qualified auto locksmith will have the necessary skills and equipment your Vauxhall needs. Better yet…

2. Find a locksmith qualified to work on your Vauxhall and your property. If your home is burgled, and your car keys are missing, the right locksmith will quickly be able to protect both your car and your house or flat. New locks will make the building’s doors and windows secure again. And the codes of your car keys can be erased from the memory of your car’s on-board computer, which can then be reprogrammed to accept new keys and a new code – before the burglar returns.

3. Take car and home security equally seriously. Carefully locking up your cherished Vauxhall on your drive is rather pointless if an opportunist thief can then simply steal the key through an open house window.

4. Fit a steering wheel lock. A brightly coloured, and therefore highly visible, metal unit is a physical and psychological deterrent to car theft.

5. Add a fold-down parking post to your drive. A thief is hardly likely to try to steal your Vauxhall if the car clearly cannot be removed from your property. Posts can be bolted down or set in concrete, with a key needed to lower the barrier so a vehicle can pass.

6. Fit security lights around your property. Being caught in the glare of a light on your drive could easily make a would-be car thief panic and dash away, leaving your Vauxhall in peace.