24/7 · Ickenham & West London
24-Hour Emergency Locksmith
Locked out, snapped a key, or a lock that will not turn? One call gets a DBS-checked engineer to your door in 30–60 minutes, any hour, with the price agreed before we set off.
- 24/7 cover
- 30–60 min
- No call-out fee
- DBS-checked
- Insurance-approved
Emergency Lockout: The Short Answer
Open-in Security Services is a 24-hour emergency locksmith based at 87A Long Lane, Ickenham, attending lockouts across West London, Hertfordshire and South Bucks within a 25-mile radius. The engineer, Kenny, has run the business since 2006 and is DBS-checked. Typical arrival is 30 to 60 minutes, and lockouts take priority over booked work. Around 95% of doors are opened without damage by picking, decoding or bypassing the lock; drilling is reserved for locks that have already failed inside, and is agreed with you first. There is no call-out fee. A fixed price is given on the phone before the van leaves: daytime non-destructive entry from £85, evenings and nights from £110, snapped key extraction from £85. If a lock cannot be saved, a replacement cylinder or case is carried and fitted on the same visit, with new keys, so the door is secure when we leave.
Last reviewed by Kenny
Will you have to break my lock to get in?
Most doors do not need drilling. We pick, decode or manipulate the lock open. Around 95% of the lockouts we attend are opened without any damage, so you keep the lock you already have and pay less. Drilling is a last resort, used only when a lock has already failed or is deliberately anti-pick, and we tell you before anything is cut.
We carry the tools and common cylinders to finish on the spot: if a lock does have to be replaced, we can fit a new one there and then rather than leaving you with a boarded-up door.
What we get called out to
Front doors slammed on the latch, lost or stolen keys, keys snapped off in the barrel, uPVC doors that will not lift-and-lock, and mortice locks seized after years of use. We cover homes, flats, garages, outbuildings and commercial units. See commercial locksmith or uPVC door repair if that is the job.
How much does an emergency locksmith cost?
Before we leave, you get a fixed price for the callout and the likely work. No call-out fee, and no renegotiation on your doorstep. Daytime non-destructive entry starts at £85; evenings and nights from £110. If a lock needs replacing, that is quoted too, so there are no surprises. See the full price guide for details.
What happens after you ring?
The call is short. Say where you are, what the door is made of, whether the keyhole is in the handle plate or in the door itself, and whether the keys are inside, lost or snapped. That is enough for a fixed price and a realistic arrival time, and the van leaves Ickenham as soon as the phone goes down. Lockouts go ahead of booked work, which is why 30 to 60 minutes is the usual wait across West London, Hertfordshire and South Bucks, with the towns nearest Ickenham at the short end.
Once the door is open we ask for photo ID, or something inside the property that ties you to the address such as a bill or a tenancy agreement. Every genuine locksmith does; it is what stops the next person who claims to have lost their keys from being let into your home.
- Ring 07904 594452 and say where you are, what the door is made of and where the keyhole sits.
- Hear a fixed price and a realistic arrival time on that same call. Nothing is added for the call-out.
- The van leaves Ickenham straight away; lockouts go ahead of booked work, so 30 to 60 minutes is the usual wait.
- The lock is picked, decoded or bypassed. Around 95% of doors open with no damage and the lock stays in service.
- Show photo ID, or a bill or tenancy agreement from inside, before the door is handed back to you.
- Pay the price agreed on the phone. If the keys are lost rather than left inside, the cylinder can be rekeyed or replaced on the spot.
How is each type of lock opened?
A rim nightlatch, the Yale-type lock on most older front doors, is usually the quickest: a door that has slammed on the latch is slipped or picked in minutes. A five-lever mortice, where the keyhole is in the door itself, is picked or decoded through the keyway with the case left in place, which is what most BS3621 insurance deadlocks come down to. A euro cylinder, the keyhole in the handle plate on uPVC, composite and many newer timber doors, is picked or bypassed and stays on the door afterwards.
The exceptions are the 3-star anti-snap cylinders built to resist exactly that. Ultion, Mul-T-Lock and their equivalents sometimes have to be drilled, in which case you are told before the drill comes out and a like-for-like replacement with new keys is fitted from the van on the same visit. A uPVC door that will not open because the multipoint mechanism has jammed is opened first and the gearbox dealt with second, in the same visit where the part is carried.
While you wait on the step
Check the back door and any side gate before assuming you are locked out of everything; a surprising number of calls end with a door that was never locked. Do not force the door or a window, because a broken frame costs a great deal more than the entry. If the keys are lost rather than left on the table, decide now whether you want the cylinder rekeyed or replaced on the same visit so that whoever has them cannot use them, and say so on the phone so the price includes it. If the property is rented, a message to the landlord or agent while you wait is worth sending, since some hold a spare. The locked out of your house guide goes through all of this in more detail.
| Situation | What we do | Typical outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Slammed on the latch | Slip or pick the latch | Open in minutes, no damage, keep the lock |
| Lost or stolen keys | Pick open, then rekey or replace the cylinder | Old keys stop working the same visit |
| Key snapped in the lock | Extract the blade, cut a replacement | Lock usually saved, new key cut on site |
| uPVC won’t lift-and-lock | Open, then repair the multipoint gearbox | Door works again without a new door |
| Anti-pick lock already failed | Drill as a last resort, fit a new lock | New lock fitted on the spot, quoted first |
Guide Prices
Emergency Lockout: Starting Prices
| Non-destructive entry (daytime) | from £85 |
|---|---|
| Non-destructive entry (evening/night) | from £110 |
| Snapped or broken key extraction | from £85 |
Starting prices. Tell us the door and the time of day, and the fixed figure is agreed before the van leaves Ickenham; there is nothing added for the call-out.
See the full price guide →Our Work
Emergency Lockout in the Field
FAQ
Emergency Lockout: Your Questions
How quickly can you get to me?
From our Ickenham base we reach most of West London, Hertfordshire and South Bucks in 30–60 minutes. Call and we will give you an honest ETA for your postcode before you commit.
Will you damage my door getting in?
Rarely. Around 95% of lockouts are opened non-destructively, picked or decoded with no damage. If a lock has failed and must be drilled, we tell you first and can fit a replacement on the spot.
Do you charge a call-out fee?
No. You pay for the work, at a fixed price agreed by phone before we set off. Daytime lockouts start at £85, evenings and nights from £110.
Are you available at night and weekends?
Yes, 24 hours a day, every day of the year, including bank holidays. The phone reaches the same locksmith who comes out.
My key snapped off in the lock. Is the lock ruined?
Usually not. We extract the broken blade with proper tools and cut a replacement key on site. The lock is normally saved; you only need a new one if the mechanism itself has worn out.
Are you an actual local locksmith or a call centre?
A real local locksmith. Open-in Security Services has worked from Ickenham since 2006, and the person who answers the phone is the DBS-checked engineer who turns up, not a national call centre that subcontracts the job on.
Need Emergency Lockout?
Locked out now? One call, one price, and the locksmith on the way within the hour.