Flipping opportunist scumbags!!

I've reported it to the police to make them aware and have had a couple of conversations with two lovely police ladies.

How annoying for you kitty!
A few weeks ago I saw on TV some CCTV footage of a couple of women rolling up a newly turfed lawn and carrying it off down the road on foot. It took several journeys.

A few months ago I was on the way into the garage to do some washing, I`d just unlocked the door when I heard the phone ringing. Left the key in the lock to go and answer the phone, went back 5 minutes later to find the key had gone. And the side door of the garage is in the yard and visible from the window, so they were blooming quick! We now have security cameras back and front, and a padlock on the garage door.

I once left my car on the street while I attended a school governors' meeting. Came out and realised that the door had been tampered with and the lock broken. However, although it looked as if they intended to steal the car, the would-be thieves hadn't noticed it had an immobiliser. They tried ransacking the boot but found slim pickings there. I called the police and was given a crime number, but nothing came of it. Best guess was that a couple of the toerags from the school fancied a bit of joy-riding. I never felt comfortable in that car again and it wasn't long before I changed it.

My friend and I went on holiday for a week and I left my car parked ( locked) on her drive as we were taking a taxi to the place we had to pick up a coach. One night her daughter heard a noise and realised someone had tried to break into both cars ( friends car also on drive). When they couldn't break in my car which as at the back was keyed really badly the whole length of the car. WHY! What is the matter with these people I worked hard to pay for that car.

One afternoon after work, my husband drove up, and parked outside our garage drive where a couple of his friends were standing talking to me, he joined in the conversation for about ten minutes, and when he returned to the car all four wheel covers were missing! It was a SAAB, and we were told by the police, that these were probably stolen to order and sold at the next car boot sale. The only folk we noticed passing by at the time were two young men who cheerfully said hello to us.

How awful for you kitty I hope you get over the awful feeling soon. My car has been 'keyed' several times in a local car park. Why do people do it?

One of the other ladies on my trip to Buckingham Palace last Wednesday was telling us how she had lost all her jewellery apart from what she was wearing, over the summer when there was a spate of petty burglaries in a neighbouring village. That night I determined to make sure all was locked up downstairs and was to find the sitting room patio doors not only unlocked but ajar, and what was worse, I remembered when and why they had been opened - the previous Sunday, when I had been trying to avoid a "grounded" young pigeon outside the other patio doors.

I tend not to leave the car unlocked though.......

In January I went to the garage in the early hours of the morning with a box for a charity shop. I daft like put my tablet on the top to take upstairs. I had to put the box on our car bonnet to open the garage door and I put the tablet safely in the 'gully?' near the windscreen to stop it slipping off the top of the box as the bonnet sloped.

Box in garage, garage door shut, me off to bed, forgot all about tablet left overnight on the car. IDIOT!!

The tablet was nowhere to be found and I reported it to the police, just in case kids had messed about on the way to school or something oddly similar. We have a street light outside so it would have been noticeable I guess all night.

I found it in my front garden in 'August'! when we were cutting back a bush, somebody had smashed the screen and buried under the plum slate chippings.

Leicestershire air again Kitty

Very annoying Kitty, lucky there wasn't anything taken of value.
We once lived in a NE town which was notorious for all kinds of theft (better now). We were hit a few times but the worst was a young woman up the road from us, just come home from shopping, left baby in car seat and keys in the ignition. Someone nipped in and stole the car! They dumped the car seat and baby, unharmed, not far away.

I'm fine - just cross!

We leave our keys in for the same reason lucky but sort of half turned. DH once broke into our house by using avert long garden cane and hooking the keys out of the key pot on the hall table half way down the hall. Someone had previously done that at DD3'S and stolen her car.

Re leaving door keys in lock at night - I always do, because I am more frightened of being caught in a fire and unable to find the key to get out than I am of getting burgled!

Sorry the scumbags descended on you kitty - I know nothing was taken but there is still a sense of violation.

DIL often forgot to lock her car when they lived with us, it was her grandfather's old Skoda. The boy racers used to cross the road to avoid it

We had someone go along a line of parked cars and put a hole in one tyre of each car with a large nail or something. Great inconvenience to those wanting to drive to work the next day. Another time they ran a key along the side of a number of cars

Someone once stole my spare wheel - the type that's screwed under the car. Didn't notice until I had a puncture. Bloody cheek!

Hearing about your topariry Linsco26 reminds me of one evening quite a while back I was sitting watching TVs when I heard a crash I moved my curtain to see a dark image across the garden wall, bearing in mind my front garden is only about 6ft long Anyway I went out to investigate and my Cordelyne tree (Yukka) had been sawn, yes sawn down about half way and was lying across my garden wall and spreading the outside pavement Now who walks around at 8pm with a saw in their hands ( you could see the saw marks and the police confirmed it was definitely sawn through) the tree didn't bother anyone else it didn't overhang anywhere and no where near any neighbours gardens or view and they are nice neighbours anyway It's all regrown not and got four Yukkas instead of one from the one trunk The police couldn't do anything anyway so I never did know who didn't like my Yukka

The same happened to a friend of mine down south last year. I think some sunglasses might have been stolen, I can't quite recall now. As it happened, she had had a house burglary prior to that and had since had security cameras installed.

They picked up the thief going over her car (he seemed oblivious to the movement-triggered floodlights they'd also installed!) and that was enough to convict him and put him behind bars for not only her theft but also for quite a few other crimes in the area.

After a total panic drive and getting lost and going miles out of my way before I found the parking I had booked at Manchester airport.
I rushed out of the car and caught the airport bus to the terminal. This was in February.

When I got back to the car a week later I noticed that I had left the drivers window open all week. It was a lot less damp inside than I thought it would be. Nothing much in it to take.

I had a child's swing stolen from the garden. The sort that is tied to a tree branch and our garden is rather open. We rely on nettles,brambles and hawthorn to keep people away. I added a noose to the tree branch as we live on what is called by old timers Hangman's Hill. It has worked so far.

Thank you all. I'm slightly unnerved but we got to the hospital 10 minutes early!!

Our last car locked itself after a certain period of time so I think we have got lackadaisical about it - no more!

We had also left the garage unlocked as we usually do but DH thinks nothing has gone.

River, we live in a largish village and have our fair share of ne'er do wells. My friend opposite was broken into 3 times in 6 months.

kept

Oh dear! Sorry to hear this, kitty. There is that about have rusty old wreck cars: we don't even take the keys out of ours. Well, we take the key out of the ignition but just fling it in the cup holder or something, mainly because MrBags keot not quite turning the ignition off properly and running the battery down, the dope!

Mind you, we are a bit off road and have a scary U-turn at the bottom of the drive, with a big drop below it ? ❗️

Furious making!

But ... before you blame DH for leaving the car unlocked, we had our Tom-Tom nicked out of the car a few years back and the police told us that opportunistic car thieves had been operating in our area - and that they had a gadget that overrides car lock systems! So it would be a matter of casing a street and trying the gadget on various cars and so on.

What a cheek! I can entirely sympathise kitty - four letter words would have come forth from moi!

DH is is our security officer (self appointed) but is on his final warning about going to bed and leaving the back door unlocked with the key in the lock. If it happens again - he is sacked!

to cheer you up.

Some years ago I went for an after-work drink with a colleague at a popular spot. It was a summer evening with lots of people out walking and enjoying the view. When we went back to the car an hour or so later the rear passenger door was open Fearing the worst we searched the car and nothing was missing. The driver had opened that door to retrieve his jacket when we arrived and must have left it open! Thanks goodness there were so many people about.

I know this is no consolation to you kitty and I am sorry you had such an awful start to your day. Did you manage to get to the hospital ok? Must have been awful coping with pesky traffic with the stress of that experience ((hugs))