About Stephen Fretwell

My story

My name is Stephen Fretwell, Doncaster locksmith and this is my story.

I was born on the outskirts of Barnsley. My family are now farmers based in North Lincolnshire. When I left school at 16, I began work the following day on the family farm.

I probably didn’t realise at the time but it was a great place to learn the fundamentals of what I now do as a Doncaster locksmith. My father often accused me of “meddling” with things when young, but I was just intrigued with stuff and remember at a young age taking two second hand bikes apart to create one fast one!

When working the land I felt it was my job to get from one side of the field to the other as quickly as possible to get the job done before the weather turned for the worse. The downside to this approach was that I broke the farm machinery quite often! Again, Dad was there and because “I broke it, I had to fix it”.

As you can imagine I got quite good at taking broken things apart and putting them back together working again. In the locksmith industry, you are expected on a daily basis to work out what the issue is, and then having to fix it. Little did I realise how in those formative years as a teenage farmer I was laying the foundations to be a locksmith.

Locksmith training & accreditation

In my late thirties my circumstances altered, I needed a career change and in the process of considering options I stumbled across the locksmith industry. I actually initially bought into a franchise, as they were “big” in those days and a popular way to quickly access an industry and have the additional support of a company behind you. But within 18 months I set off on my own.

I received my initial training from the franchise itself, but I felt I needed more, and that was when I got my first real bit of luck. I was very fortunate to meet a gentleman called Bennie Wells, the ‘God’ of the locksmith world at that time and I managed to secure one to one training with the guru himself. Those two weeks with Bennie changed everything and I fell in love there and then with locksmithing.

As soon as I started locksmithing, I worked out that I simply loved the job. Everyday I was learning something new (I still do learn something new everyday) and I excitedly told everybody around me as well, I think I became a little boring to anyone listening… but nobody said so!

As you would expect I am Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) checked, a member of The Federation of Small Businesses and also the Association of Accredited locksmiths. These all hopefully add credibility to me and my business.

Stephen Fretwell Doncaster locksmith

The locksmith industry is not what everybody imagines… which is people losing keys. That aspect is a small part of an average working week. The vast majority of my work is the repair of composite and uPVC doors. Upgrading door locks, attending evictions, burglaries, domestics along with repairing uPVC window locks and handles, replacing mortice locks, garage locks, shed locks, code locks and so much more!