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sarah_orangebums! got burgled at 3AM last night. Al was still up and noticed the internet connection drop as they unplugged everything in the living room and then a few minutes later he heard the door shutting behind them and wondered if it was one of us coming in. no sign of anyone by the time he got down there - which considering they had my shiny 32" Sony HD TV means they must have had a car.
they also took Al's EEEPC and my old nokia 6300 phone. and fuzzy's housekeys to open the front door. which unfortunately were his bike and bike chain keys too. arse.
nice policeman turned up at 6:00am and took details after he went I phoned into work and told them I wasn't coming in. SOC came round about 10 and proved, to my relief, as i suspected that they'd come in through the window in the living room (which they'd had the good grace to shut behind them thus confusing us) - by forcing it when it was open in vent mode. they left a couple of bin bags which the police should be able to get prints from (and foot prints from me walking round probably too before I twigged) and they took prints from the window.
it was a relief because I *remember* locking the door behind me when I came in at 8 last night and no-one else went out. but then you start to doubt yourself and worry about the insurance claim...
our landlords, Handley Gibson Twaite, have sent someone out to see us and very quickly and after he's dealt with a slightly more pressing water pipe burst somewhere he's changing all 3 locks and putting a new catch on the window (it's really wobbly)
all in all very annoying but a good wakeup call to the security of the house - that window lock was a bit wobbly before and I know that if it had been fully shut they wouldn't have been able to get purchase on it. nothing of sentimental value was taken (well apart from my beautiful shiny 32" sony widescreen telly *sob*) and we're a little wiser.
they also took Al's EEEPC and my old nokia 6300 phone. and fuzzy's housekeys to open the front door. which unfortunately were his bike and bike chain keys too. arse.
nice policeman turned up at 6:00am and took details after he went I phoned into work and told them I wasn't coming in. SOC came round about 10 and proved, to my relief, as i suspected that they'd come in through the window in the living room (which they'd had the good grace to shut behind them thus confusing us) - by forcing it when it was open in vent mode. they left a couple of bin bags which the police should be able to get prints from (and foot prints from me walking round probably too before I twigged) and they took prints from the window.
it was a relief because I *remember* locking the door behind me when I came in at 8 last night and no-one else went out. but then you start to doubt yourself and worry about the insurance claim...
our landlords, Handley Gibson Twaite, have sent someone out to see us and very quickly and after he's dealt with a slightly more pressing water pipe burst somewhere he's changing all 3 locks and putting a new catch on the window (it's really wobbly)
all in all very annoying but a good wakeup call to the security of the house - that window lock was a bit wobbly before and I know that if it had been fully shut they wouldn't have been able to get purchase on it. nothing of sentimental value was taken (well apart from my beautiful shiny 32" sony widescreen telly *sob*) and we're a little wiser.
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Date: 2009-07-14 10:58 am (UTC)Still, it's only *stuff* that's been lost.
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Date: 2009-07-14 11:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-14 12:21 pm (UTC)Fortunately most things that have sentimental value fall below the too difficult / too little value threshold for the professional house-breaker. It's the twats with a drug habit to feed that smash windows and take *anything*.
Security, BTW, is just a matter of making your house less attractive to burglars than the ones around it. More than that is unnecessary and just inconveniences you. The reason I say that is because I know several people who've gone way OTT with security after getting burgled (although I doubt you would anyway). I've actually got *less* security conscious as I know what will be nicked and frankly I can afford to lose it. The real valuables are either worthless to them or are very well hidden indeed.
A good tip BTW is never to leave keys around, then they have to get whatever they're nicking out an unlocked window or however they came in.
Also consider padlocking your PC to something relatively immobile. If they need more than a pair of wire-clippers to get it they'll leave it.
...and of course, my sympathies.