The murder of 78-year-old Ann Widdecombe in her own home has sent shockwaves throughout the country. Her idyllic-seeming home surrounded by the sun-baked Devon countryside is surely the last place you’d expect a hideously violent attack of the kind she was subject to last week.For many elderly women, her death comes as a frightening reminder of the vulnerability of living alone.Thankfully, though home intrusion and burglary is common (a burglary occurs every two to three minutes in the UK) it is vanishingly rare to be murdered by a stranger in your own home.Yet women – and men – can take steps to protect themselves from the possibility of a break-in and assault, unlikely as it is.Private security specialist Christian Hill, 44, managing director of Intelligent Protection International, who has worked in security for nearly 30 years, told us exactly what women can do to put off intruders and deter burglars. Here are his top tips to stay safe if you live alone as a woman.Don’t advertise your living situationTry not to let people know that you are living alone. Don’t tell taxi or Uber drivers, and avoid posting about it on social media. Unfortunately, it might make you a target. If you’re at home by yourself in the evening, close the curtains. Try to have company at unpredictable times if you can. Ann Widdecombe, 78, was murdered in the Devon countryside where she lived aloneNever flash your cashPerhaps the most obvious but also the most important rule, which applies to everybody. Don’t show the world how much money you have. If you pull out a wad of cash in a shop, or get a large sum of cash out alone, people will see – and they might not all be law-abiding. The same applies to nice jewellery and expensive handbags. By all means wear and use them, but get a cab home if you can rather than going on the bus. Hide necklaces in blouses and bracelets under long sleeves when on public transport. If people can see car keys, expensive jewellery or art looking into your house through the window, you’re also at risk. It tempts fate.Get a doorstopBy which I mean a simple, lifesaving, wooden wedge. Especially in situations where you feel there may be a threat to you, a doorstop holding a door mostly closed is essential. Even the front door: you can open it just a crack and keep the wedge underneath so it won’t open any further, even when pushed hard.Have an exit plan and never run upstairs Private security specialist Christian Hill, who has worked in security for nearly 30 years, has given his top tips to stay safe if you live alone as a womanYou must plan an exit route. If someone gets into your house, do not run upstairs like they do in films. Get out of the house as fast as you can. That could mean making sure that the back door is unlocked before you open the front.Keep a tennis racquet or bright torch by the front doorA safety siren that emits a very loud noise, a tennis racket, a very bright, blinding flashlight – keep something by the front door you can use to slow down or put off an intruder. Disorientate them if possible, but don’t use anything that could be construed as a weapon – a knife or a hammer could demonstrate an intent to harm.It can be helpful to keep these things by easily accessible open windows in the hot weather too.Take a self defence classThe basics of self-defence can buy valuable seconds to help you get away from an attacker. In a worst case scenario, making a lot of noise and ‘acting crazy’ can put an assailant on the back foot as it is so unexpected. The goal of this should not be to pin down your attacker, but to have enough tricks up your sleeve to get away in a tight situation. Ring doorbells are affordable technology which allow you to keep an eye on your home from your phoneIf you feel like you’re being followed, don’t rush homeIf you do feel like someone is watching or following you, then do not head straight home (especially if you live alone) but instead go to a cafe, library, pub or friend’s house – somewhere public and well-lit and friendly where you will be safe to call the police.Improve your home securityInstall window and extra door locks. Have lights on a timer that go off and on throughout the night so it looks like people are awake in the house. Get a house alarm – and switch it on before you go to bed. It’s a little mad, but if you can bear the noise, you could even put hanging bells on individual door handles to warn you of someone trying to enter.Our current advice, and it costs a little but not a lot, is to rehang your interior doors so that they swing out rather than into a room. If you are injured and left slumped against a door unconscious, it is very difficult for a rescuer to get in to help. If they swing out, help can always reach you.Be alert to suspicious detailPeople rarely knock on a random door. A burglary or attack will be planned and thought through. They’ll have watched the house, and you, and come to know your routine. So have a quick check around when you get home – is anything different? Have bins been moved or branches broken in the front garden? Is paint flaking off the window in a way that suggests someone might have tried to open it? Is the shed door open when you’re sure you closed it? Have friends and family over to stay on different nights of the week – be unpredictable in your routine if you can be.Know which tech works and which doesn’tI highly recommend Ring doorbells because they’re affordable, allow you to maintain your privacy while helping with deliveries, and allow you to keep an eye on your home from your phone. Unmonitored CCTV on the other hand is only good for watching back something that’s already happened. If you really feel threatened, it may be worth paying a security company to monitor that CCTV in real time. That doesn’t mean someone sitting watching the screen all the time. Instead sophisticated motion sensor cameras can alert a trained monitor and trigger a live feed when it detects an anomaly like the opening of a gate in the night. Depending on what they see, they can then call for help.Keep your phone chargedIt’s never too early to call the police. Do it as soon as you’ve made your way to a safe space. If you’re worried about someone approaching your house, you can even keep a call-handler on the phone with you while you open the door. There’s nothing wrong with that – just make sure your phone is always charged up.Guard dogs are overratedGuard dogs aren’t for general domestic use – they’re specially trained and need specialist handling, and you can be held liable if your dog attacks someone. You’re better off with a pet dog that makes a lot of noise and alerts the neighbours.Trust your gutIf something isn’t right – the magazine pile you haven’t touched in weeks is off-kilter, an unfamiliar car keeps circling, you’ve suddenly seen a man appear outside your house who was in the bank earlier when you withdrew money – then trust your instinct. Leave the house by the back exit and go to a neighbour or get in the car, and head to a friend’s house.As told to Rosie Beveridge