Note to self...

Oh lord - so easily done.

I once stopped in a lay by on a dual carriageway for a pee. I switched the engine off, grabbed the keys out of the ignition, and then out of habit, pressed the lock plunger down and shut the door whilst holding the handle so that it locked. Then I looked in my hand and saw that the ignition key had come off the ring, and was still in the car.

So there I was, shirt sleeves, mid winter, and a two mile walk to the nearest phone box. I then had to wait while my dad got out of the bath and drove eight miles with my spare key.

I once took my DC to visit my mother. Unloaded the children, opened boot to retrieve toys etc, put keys down, closed the boot. All the doors and boot locked. I had to leave the children with my mother and ask my father to give me a lift home (6 miles) to get the spare key. This turned out to be a longer visit than I had anticipated because I had to wait until Dad came home from work.

I always carry a spare car key in my handbag ever since our Jack Russell locked me out at a garage.

I'd filled up the car and also put some petrol in a can for the mower. After I paid I got back in the car and was about to drive off when I realised I hadn't put the can in the boot. I got out - keys were in the ignition - and our JR put his paws up at the window to see what I was up to and pressed down the central locking.

Phone was also in the car but the man at the garage lent me his mobile. In those days DH could drive so I was rescued. I can't be too careful now.

Years ago I locked one year old DD in car, after putting her in car seat - this was pre-central locking, with the keys. Luckily RAC man arrived within 30 minutes and 'broke in' very easily but frightening experience especially when child involved.

Husband threw coat , with keys in pocket, into new car, not realising that after 30 seconds it automatically locked - took 3 men and a metal coat hanger the best part of 3 hours to break in..... I didn't realise this could happen!

This reminded me of the time I took my DS for a walk by the canal. I noticed, as I pulled onto the wasteland where we always parked that a gate had been added. A car was pulling out as I pulled in. I busied myself with getting DS out of his car seat and it wasn't until I stood up that I realised that the person pulling out of the car park had locked the gate behind them! I went over to the gate and there was a sign on it (which was obscured by the car pulling out as I came in) saying it was now a private car park for key holders only! It bordered onto the canal at the other side with no towpath and had 8ft fencing all the way round. We were completely locked in! This was in the days before mobile phones of course. There was a gap under the gate big enough for my DS to crawl under (he was 4). After much persuasion I got him to crawl under and knock on the door of the only house nearby, but there was nobody in. Eventually a dog walker came by; I shouted to her and amazingly she had a key! Hate to think how long we could have been there!

After running a night school class for Childminders I came out into the dark car park only to find I'd locked my keys in the boot with my equipment.
So there I was in the dark, in a very rough area of Bootle.
Some of the local thugs youngsters were kicking a ball around and sensing something was wrong advanced.
'Yer locked yerself out?' they asked
Then very quickly and kindly broke into my car using plastic tape, removed the back seat, retrieved my keys and smilingly waved me on my way.

Always reassuring to come across a good car thief when you need one, Anya

A few months ago I strapped DGS into his car seat, locked the car doors while I went into the bin sheds attached to DD's block of flats, threw the black rubbish bag into the skip, and realised I had thrown in my car keys with it

A very long five minutes later I emerged from the skip, car keys in hand. Not sure how I smelt

PS. Don't tell DD !

Breaking into cars is obviously a very useful skill. We used to have an elderly WI member who could do it (with the packing tape). She said a policeman had taught her!

I had forgotten until I read the replies that this happened to me several years ago too.
I called the AA and the guy turned up, produced what looked like a straightened wire hanger. He asked me to walk a few feet away and had the car open in seconds, even if I'd been standing at his elbow it was too quick for me to learn how to be a car thief

DH has a bad habit of locking me in the car in Supermarket car parks. We've run out of beer ,he says . I won't be a moment. And automatically locks the car as he walks away. I now keep a spare key in my hand when we are out together. The last time I hammered on the window as he was walking away and he realised and unlocked it. Then walked away and locked it again as he went into the supermarket. For far too long.

I often do that, but our car has a switch on the dashboard that unlocks it.

Our car may have that switch because it has suicide doors that automatically lock when the car is moving.

Suicide doors?!

Hinged at the back

Our car locks itself when we leave it but the central locking has decided not to work when we're inside it. Obviously prefers us not to be in it.

Car keys locked in boot too.
In our case, I went to the seaside with a car full of people. We all took our seaside stuff out of the car and boot.
All had our arms full of stuff,ready to go. I asked who had the car keys?
Cue all of us going everuthing several times, and everyone accusing each other of last having the car keys.
Many minutes later, we all realised that the only place they could possibly be, was locked in the boot.

Oh, and my fault by the way! I was the one who had left them in there.

I had just been bashed by a woman's trolley in the supermarket as she was determined to get before me in the checkout queue. I felt a bit shaken and upset only to arrive at my car and realised I had locked the keys in the boot. I just stood beside my car and had a cry, phoned DH about my keys and the 'bad lady'. He arrived with my spare keys and gave me a cuddle.

I locked 18 month old DD2 in the car once with the keys still in the ignition. Panic, running into nearest shop for help, then a man with the same make of car drove up, and wondered if his keys might fit my car. The key which opened his glove compartment opened my door. Relief, but a bit worrying at the same time - I would have thought that all keys were slightly different!

I lent DD1 my car when we went on holiday once. She phoned us to ask if we had a spare set of keys because she'd locked them in the car - no we hadn't, so she got the AA out.
The second time she phoned she said 'guess what ....' . That time one of her friends broke in for her using the wire coathanger trick

I once ran outside because my rabbit had escaped and the front door banged shut, leaving my 2 year old sister inside on her own. Argh! I got the rabbit and then had to try to get my sister to find my purse, bring it to the door, post it through the letterbox and then I could let myself in with my key which was inside it. It took some time and I was glad that my mum wasn't home, I'd have got a real telling off! I was about 17 at the time.

I too have locked the keys in the boot when parked in Hampstead due to collect DH after his chemo at the Royal Free. Had to call out AA who remarked that cars like mine were "like Fort Knox" to get into. However he managed by inflating a thing like a whoopee cushion to open a rear window just enough not to trigger the alarm but to pass a sort of semi rigid wire with a magnet attached and flicked the key onto the back seat (respect!) and then poked the fob to unlock the doors! Never so grateful for the gap Roomsters have between the parcel shelf and the back seat.

You can imagine the state I was in!

A few years ago I chained my bike to a bench in Leek whilst I went for a look round town, and when I came back, the padlock key had fallen out of my jacket pocket. It wasn't the end of the world as I carry a spare, but I wasn't going to leave myself with only one key that lightly, so I decided to go and look for the one I lost.

I spent half an hour retracing my steps around the town, and asking in all the shops, but had no luck, so I went back to the bike. I then had one last check before I got the spare key out, and found it in the pocket where I'd put it in the first place.