The euro cylinder is the door
On the vast majority of London front doors — uPVC, composite, and most timber — the entire security of the door rests on the euro-profile cylinder. The handle is cosmetic. The multipoint mechanism is robust but only as strong as the cylinder it accepts. If the cylinder fails, the door is open.
Cylinders fail in four ways under attack: snapping, bumping, picking and drilling. A ‘snap attack’ — where the cylinder is gripped with mole grips and twisted until it shears — became the dominant break-in method in London a decade ago and remains so today.
What 3-star actually means
The British Standard for euro cylinders is TS007. It awards stars: 1, 2 or 3. To get 3 stars, a cylinder must independently defeat all four attack methods in standardised testing. To get 1 star, it only has to defeat some of them — and in real-world installations, a 1-star cylinder is meant to be paired with a 2-star handle to make up the rating.
That works on paper. In practice, handles get changed. Doors get refurbished. The 2-star handle is replaced by something off Amazon and the door silently drops back to 1-star without anyone noticing.
A 3-star cylinder doesn’t have that problem. It is independently rated. The handle can be anything. The cylinder alone meets the standard.
Why Avocet ABS specifically
There are several 3-star cylinders on the UK market. We chose Avocet ABS because:
- It carries the Sold Secure Diamond rating in addition to TS007 3-star — the toughest independent test in the UK.
- It is approved under Secured by Design — the police-preferred standard for new-build housing.
- The product range is complete: euro, oval, thumbturn, sizes from 60mm to 110mm in 5mm increments. We can fit any door without compromise.
- Avocet’s cylinder design includes a sacrificial section: even under sustained snap attack, the inner mechanism remains in place and the door stays locked.
Why we don’t carry alternatives
If we stocked five brands of cylinder, we would fit five brands of cylinder — and the cheapest ones, when the customer chose price over rating, would underperform. The honest version of this trade is to carry the best product and quote its real cost. That’s what we do.
We are not the cheapest locksmith in London. We are not trying to be. We are trying to be the locksmith you call when you want the cylinder problem solved once and never thought about again.
What you get
- Avocet ABS cylinder, sized to your door, fitted same day.
- Three keys cut to your new cylinder.
- An itemised written invoice naming the product, the rating, and the cylinder serial — for your insurer or freeholder if needed.
- A guarantee on the work and the product itself.