An electrician has come up with a shocking new way to detract thieves from trying to get into his van.
61-year-old Ray Taylor was fed up with having his expensive equipment stolen from his van as, over a period of two years, he had lost more than £5,000 worth of equipment from thieves breaking into his van.
Being a electrician, Ray decided to wire up a simple, electric anti-theft system on his van – meaning whoever tried to open the vehicle would get a nasty shock.
Check it out:
Taylor fitted his Citroen Dispatch with a system that not only gives the thief an electric shock, but also triggers sirens and the sound of bombs.
Ray, from Wolverhampton, said:
If the sirens don’t scare them off, the shock will. They’ll get a zap.
The van will give unsuspecting thieves a sharp shock of around 1,000 volts from Ray’s ‘live’ handle. While sirens and two alarms which sound like bombs go off.
Together, the alarms cause a deafening 120 decibel noise, equivalent to a jumbo jet taking off.
As Ray put it:
The shock isn’t going to do any lasting damage but it will make you jump a bit. It’s solved all my problems, so I can sleep easy.
The ingenious system works via a 1,000 volt zapper from a fly swatter attached to a metal plate, which is fitted to the rear door handle of the van. It means the shock is isolated to the handle only, and the rest of the van is not ‘live’.
While the siren, sound bombs – and even a strobe light – are fitted to the same circuit, connected to a switch in the van’s cabin. It becomes active when the van is locked, and activates if someone tries to pull the rear door handle. Sensors connected to the other doors will also set off the alarms.
Ray has also copyrighted his innovative design, and charges £380 to fit similar systems in other vans. Though West Midlands Police say they would not endorse the system, it’s not illegal as long as warning signs are displayed on the van.
Under the van’s handle, a yellow sticker reads: ‘Danger Live Terminals’. Let’s hope it keeps the thieves away.
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Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.