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Flipping opportunist scumbags!!

(34 Posts)
kittylester Thu 22-Sep-16 09:56:04

This morning DS1 had a hospital appointment at 9am. This meant me leaving the house at 7.45 to pick him up and drive through all the pesky traffic to get him there in time.

I went out to get in my car and discovered the contents of the glove box, door pockets and storage box all deposited on the front seat.

Having established that DH hadn't done it grin and the car hadn't actually been broken into, I realised that my car must have been left unlocked all night (DH drove it last!!) and someone must have come up the drive and tried the car doors. DH's car was intact.

It has really spooked me to think that someone was wandering the streets and hit upon my car and I'm wondering how often they had tried before.

Nothing was taken - not much call on the black market for The Wheels on The Bus CDs or bird indentification books. Just realised the binoculars have gone - wonder what the going price for national trust freebies is?

I'm blooming livid!!angry

Charleygirl Thu 22-Sep-16 10:02:22

8kittylester* the only good thing is that you still have your car! Maybe they did not think that it was worth taking. I assume that they were looking for loose change and a sat nav.

annsixty Thu 22-Sep-16 10:04:22

A few months ago we had a spate of this in our road kitty. No real theft although my neighbour had his back number plate unscrewed . Some were opened and the contents strewed in gardens and one neighbor had a potato pushed into his exhaust which could have been serious but was easily seen. It is just devilment for the sake of it. We had police patrols for a few nights and it stopped.

grannyqueenie Thu 22-Sep-16 10:05:03

What a horrible start to your day. kitty its intrusive, so annoying and I agree a bit unnerving. Hope your day gets better and you don't feel too spooked by it all. flowers Hope the appointment went well too.
On a positive note maybe a local ne'er do well will now find an absorbing new hobby to keep him/her out of further mischief! smile

Esspee Thu 22-Sep-16 10:05:22

They would be welcome to my sat nav. Recalculating is the most irritating word in the English language.

Riverwalk Thu 22-Sep-16 10:07:05

I'm quite shocked at that Kitty - don't you live in a little village?

rosesarered Thu 22-Sep-16 10:08:23

Unsettling Kitty to find that somebody had been in your car, probably not a car thief thankfully! I bet you will now doublecheck on locking the cars,one day last week, I left the car unlocked,it's easily done.

Greyduster Thu 22-Sep-16 10:19:14

Not long after we moved here we had the same thing happen to us - because one of us forgot to lock the car. They only took a couple of CDs and, strangely, DH's battered old walking boots out of the boot. They left mine, which were better than his, and worth a lot more, so they obviously weren't after stuff to sell. There has been a spate of vehicle break ins on DDs road, but they obviously looked into her car, decided that it had already been "turned over" and left it alone grin! It is, as you say, kitty, unnerving, and now, if I hear a noise outside during the night, I am out of bed like a shot to see what it is.

Linsco56 Thu 22-Sep-16 10:20:42

The title of your thread describes them to a T. It would make me livid too.

DH was working to repair the fence at the side of our driveway and left his tools for 5 mins to answer a call of nature. The toolbox was stolen and not another person in sight.

On another occasion we had planted a piece of topiary in the front garden and we could hardly believe our eyes when we discovered it had been stolen overnight. They must have actually come with a shovel and worked very quietly while we were asleep in a bedroom overlooking the front garden. I was totally shocked at their sheer audacity!

Swanny Thu 22-Sep-16 10:38:21

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 shock 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))

Gagagran Thu 22-Sep-16 11:08:05

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!

flowers to cheer you up.

Grannyknot Thu 22-Sep-16 11:21:55

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.

thatbags Thu 22-Sep-16 12:09:16

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 ? ❗️

thatbags Thu 22-Sep-16 12:09:37

kept

kittylester Thu 22-Sep-16 12:24:33

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.

Stansgran Thu 22-Sep-16 12:36:10

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.

Nelliemoser Thu 22-Sep-16 13:15:18

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.

SueDonim Thu 22-Sep-16 13:40:31

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.

BlueBelle Thu 22-Sep-16 14:00:31

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

NannyMcPhU Thu 22-Sep-16 14:19:39

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

Welshwife Thu 22-Sep-16 14:22:39

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

harrigran Thu 22-Sep-16 14:22:40

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 grin

Luckygirl Thu 22-Sep-16 14:41:24

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.

kittylester Thu 22-Sep-16 14:46:28

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.shock Someone had previously done that at DD3'S and stolen her car.

TriciaF Thu 22-Sep-16 14:47:39

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.