WIRELESS BOUNDARYGARD DETECTORS PROTECT ESSEX CHURCHES
07 December 2010
Two rural churches blighted by thefts of lead from their roofs are being protected by innovative wire-free detectors from Optex Europe.
With metal prices still rising, churches and other historic buildings areincreasingly the target of thieves, usually at night. One such church,Stistead in Essex, has been targeted on a number of occasions, with leadgoing missing on two consecutive nights, costing more than £8,000 each timeto replace. Paul Bradshaw, Managing Director of Braintree-based Bradling Security, wasasked to find a solution: ³We have installed internal alarms at a number ofchurches in the past, but the project in Stistead was the first to protectthe roof,² he says. ³We chose the VX402R detectors from Optex Europe to create a virtualperimeter preventing anyone accessing the roof, and since the system wasinstalled, there have been no further attempted thefts.² The system Paul specified includes a GSM dialler as the church does not havea phone line (partly because of expense), and wires would have beenunsightly on such an historic building. Paul explains that in looking at thesite and taking into account the type of property, an unobtrusive wire freeintruder system was preferred: ³Six key holders are alerted should an alarmsound, and as this is a rural area they are able to respond more quicklythan guards. Other than some fine tuning, there have not been any falsealarms,² he adds. A similar system has also been installed at St Mary¹s Church in Bocking,where four flat roofed areas had lead stolen over the space of a couple ofweeks: ³As word has spread around the diocese of how effective these Optexdetectors are as a preventative measure, so has the demand for our solutionsincreased,² he says. ³The vicars and the communities are safer in theknowledge that their churches are secure. We are quoting on a number ofother churches in the near future where the Optex VX402Rs will be part ofthe solution.² Paul Nicholas, Sales Manager for BoundaryGard says that when the budget islimited but reliability is still essential, BoundaryGard provides anexcellent front-line defence against intruders: ³The flexibility of havingwireless detectors means that they can be installed even in the mostchallenging of environments,² he says. The VX402R employs multiple detection pattern technology developed fromOptex Europe¹s long-range external detector range that prevents falseactivations from small animals and birds. Two discrete detection areas arecreated and only when an intruder is detected in both areas is an alarmoutput provided. The detectors utilise patented Double Conductive Shielding of thePyroelectric Element, which is in effect a double filtering and shielding ofvisible light and RFI such that only infrared energy reaches thePyroelectric Elements. The VX402R has a detection pattern of 12 metres x 12 metres. The detectionpattern of 90 degrees with 12 metre range can be rotated through 180 degreesallowing flexible mounting of the unit, and the wire free kit versionincludes receiver with audio and visual indication that can be used eitherstand-alone or integrated into an existing security or lighting system.