I belong to a local Neighbour Digest which I have mentioned before. So yesterday one popped up on my email about Cleverly Park where my aunt lives. So I phoned my aunt to make sure she was okay. This happened to the house next door to her.
People in bed 11.45pm, woman suddenly thought did I lock the front door so goes down the stairs. Her handbag had been sitting in the hall beside the small table now moved. She looked out and man getting into her car and someone in her daughter's car. She ran out not thinking and grabbed the car door. The man leapt out and punched her in the mouth as she was screaming ran off the other man in daughter's car jumped out and ran. People just seem to forget to lock their doors.
My aunt did say the people came to her next day, but she sleeps in the back bedroom and heard nothing. Then she tells me the lock at the top of her front door is broken! Now at 85 she no longer drives but still. I told her to get one of her sons to come look at it and fix it for her.
There's nothing like a good old-fashioned bolt on the inside of a door. Unless a thief can get his hand through a letterbox and can open it. Ours are positioned that a thief would have to be Stretch Armstrong to reach it. It makes me feel a bit safer though I had it installed after a neighbour policeman gave the house a quick security going over after someone had scratched the door trying to get in when Mr AE was nights and there was no car outside.
The downside was getting up to let him in on a freezing morning at 5am but the peace of mind was worth it.
I wonder if those stick-on battery window alarms would be helpful for forgetful older people. the alarm will go off if the door or window contacts are separated. Maybe you could suggest it for your aunt or the Digest to publish.
We've been thinking about changing our locks as there was a spate of robberies just before lockdown where thieves would 'bump' the locks in seconds and just stroll in. We might get around to it when things get back to normal.
We also have got into the habit of physically checking the car doors when locking them as my sister had her remote blocked and cloned when she parked it outside the front of a hospital in plain daylight. The thieves gave har a few minutes, jumped in and drove off. The car was never recovered, the thieves well-prepared wearing hoodies and baseball caps so not identified.
We keep our keys in a tin these days to block the signal from would-be thieves. The spares are also in a tin in the safe. A bit of overkill but better safe than sorry I suppose.
Our street used to be a quiet main road with lovely people and good neighbours. Then, a bypass was built, the end blocked to a no-through road and a social housing estate built at the end of it. there's enough room to get an old-fashioned mini through the bit they left and this has caused the street so many problems with yobs, vandals an opportunistic thieves. Twenty years ago you wouldn't have recognised the area. Now, just the past few days the council are wanting 200 houses built in the woods behind us. The same woods with foxes. badgers, hedgehogs, bats, snakes, lizards, newts, frogs, red kites and others have lived forever.
I'd say it's progress but the social housing estate is actually not being used with 54% of the housing empty as no one wants to live there but the government has published their housing forecast as these new houses being needed. Yeah, right. There are council pockets being lined - especially those of one councillor who was told a bungalow only would be allowed on a patch of land behind the houses opposite. He now miraculously has permission for a 5-bed house from a 3-bed bungalow!
And thought presenter freebies were annoying.
We popped into Asda for milk and bits and he went off upstairs to the home and wear bit for Polyfilla. I waited by the bread section and saw him look at me and then walk past. Apparently he thought that I wasn't wearing the particular jacket that I had on and blamed my mask. I had to call him back and lift my mask a tad and say "it is I" like that fool on "ello" ello! 
I recognised him in his mask though 
