About AA Lock & Key
About AA Lock & Key.
Founded by Craig. Carried forward by Sam.
AA Lock & Key has been the locksmith of choice for Bristol homeowners, landlords, schools, shops and cinema chains since 2009. The brand, the values, and the focus are unchanged. The person on the van is new — and his training is the highest level a UK locksmith can hold.
How AA Lock & Key began
AA Lock & Key was founded by Craig Andres in 2009. Craig started locksmithing in 2003 during a work-experience placement and spent the following six years learning the trade with a well-regarded Bristol locksmith business — gaining hands-on training across the full spectrum of domestic and commercial locksmithing.
By 2009 Craig had the experience to set up on his own, and AA Lock & Key was born. From the first job, the brief was the same one we still hold to: provide a friendly, efficient, top-quality locksmith service for homes and businesses across Bristol — and stand by the work.
In 2010 AA Lock & Key was put forward by HSBC for the HSBC Start-Up Stars Award — a national programme recognising the country’s most promising new businesses. The recognition arrived after just twelve months of trading, and was an early signal that this wasn’t going to be just another local locksmith.
Over the next 17 years Craig built the kind of standing in the Bristol locksmith industry that takes a career to earn. AA Lock & Key became a known name for homeowners, landlords, letting agents, local councils, property maintenance firms, new-home developers, doctors’ surgeries, nurseries, schools, retailers, and national cinema chains.
The same brand. New hands on the toolkit.
In 2026, the AA Lock & Key brand and website were acquired by Auto and Home Lock Pros Ltd — a Bristol-based locksmith company committed to carrying the AA name forward without changing what makes it worth carrying.
The brand is the same. The phone number is the same. The 24/7 promise is the same. The principles — you speak to the locksmith, no call-out fee, no VAT, same price 24/7, no inflated emergency quotes — are the same. Craig still appears on jobs occasionally and remains involved in the business he built.
What’s changed is who answers the phone and turns up at your door. That’s Sam.
The locksmith on the van
Sam is the Bristol locksmith who now runs the day-to-day at AA Lock & Key. When you phone the number on this site, it’s Sam who answers; when we quote a job, it’s Sam quoting; when we arrive at your door, it’s Sam on the van. No call centre, no national dispatch service, no third party.
Sam qualified as a locksmith in 2024 and holds the NCFE Level 4 Diploma in Locksmithing — the highest qualification a UK locksmith can hold. It covers residential and commercial lock work, master-key system design, non-destructive entry, modern UPVC and composite door mechanisms, and current British Standard compliance for insurance-rated installations.
The point of working with the newest qualified locksmith in the area, paired with one of the most experienced founders in Bristol, is simple: every technique on every job is current. Locks evolve. Burglary methods evolve. So does the training to defeat them.
Six principles we don’t bend on
The locksmith industry has earned a reputation it doesn’t deserve — inflated emergency quotes, hidden VAT, “call-out fees” that double the bill on arrival, and national dispatch numbers pretending to be local. That isn’t how we work. It isn’t how Craig built the business, and it isn’t how Sam runs it.
The price you’re quoted is the price you pay
Free fixed quote before any work starts. No surprises on the invoice. If we get to the door and find the job needs something different, we tell you on the spot — you decide whether to go ahead.
You speak to the locksmith, not a call centre
The person on the phone is the person coming to your door. No middleman, no quote inflation between booking and arrival.
No call-out fee. No VAT. Same price 24/7.
If we come out and can’t solve your problem, you don’t pay. We don’t charge VAT. There’s no surcharge for evenings, weekends, or bank holidays.
Non-destructive entry first, every time
We pick before we drill. Around 9 out of 10 lock-outs are opened with no damage to the lock. Drilling is a last resort, and we’ll tell you on arrival if it’s the only option.
An honest ETA before we set off
Most calls in Bristol are 20–30 minutes from us being on the way to us being at your door. We’ll tell you the truth before we leave, not a marketing claim.
A 12-month guarantee on what we fit
If something we fitted fails within 12 months, we come back and fix it — free. That’s the entire warranty in one sentence.
Bristol’s homes, businesses, and everything between
Over the years AA Lock & Key has built relationships with a wide spectrum of Bristol customers. Some of them keep our number on speed-dial; others just need us once when the worst happens.
- Homeowners — lock-outs, lock changes, anti-snap upgrades, UPVC repairs
- Landlords & letting agents — tenancy lock changes, restricted-key suites for HMOs
- Local councils — ongoing maintenance and emergency response
- Property maintenance companies — trade-rate work on portfolios
- New-home developers — master-key planning and architectural ironmongery
- Doctors’ surgeries & healthcare — secure storage, restricted-key access
- Nurseries & schools — safeguarding-grade lock work, full DBS evidence
- Retailers & high-street shops — after-hours emergencies and security upgrades
- National cinema chains — multi-site facilities work
- Bristol businesses across every sector — offices, hospitality, fitness, professional services
A Bristol locksmith for Bristol
AA Lock & Key operates from 11 Goosefoot Road, Emersons Green, Bristol BS16 7LX. From here we cover every Bristol BS postcode plus surrounding South Gloucestershire, Bath & North East Somerset, and North Somerset. We also reach Gloucester, Chepstow, Chippenham, Trowbridge, and Weston-super-Mare.
Phone 0784 666 2889, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Ready to phone a real Bristol locksmith?
One call. Honest price. With you in under 30 minutes for emergencies.
Call 0784 666 2889 Open 24 hours, 7 days. Calls answered in person.
