Has anyone else been burgled?

[jojo2910]

Just want to get this off my chest. We woke up on Thursday to find we had been burgled. They've taken laptops, my handbag and my car. The police think they came to take my car and took the laptops to sell for Christmas cash.

It's been horrible, not just the thought that someone was in my house, but having to relive it all for each of the insurers and the police.

I've also started to think that I'm to blame somehow. Is there something I could have done to prevent this, did I leave my keys somewhere? Deep down I know I am not to blame, but it doesn't stop me thinking this way.

Friends and family are brilliant at the moment, especially my boyfriend.

Did this happen to anyone else?

Thanks,

Jo

[Hans Mum]

we were burgled a few years ago dont take it personally, its an awful feeling knowing someone has been into your personal sanctury but you do get over it, take care

[Jeanied]

I know just how you feel Jo - over the years I have been burgled at home, had my car broken into 3 times and ever since I put a shed on the lottie that has been broken into several times. Try not to blame yourself and to think that the burglar focused on you for any special reason, they just grab any opportunity they can and have absolutely no interest in the person they are stealing from. In fact they probably don't even think about a person at all - just the goods.
Hopefully your car will be tracked down and they will catch them.
When my house was done I took it as a starting point to reassess and have it re-decorated and changed around so it ended up being more positive - but it took a bit of mental re-adjusting to get there!
Stay strong, look for a bright side and lets hope they catch the b**trds!

[Nicos]

Oh dear- I'm sorry xx

[zazen999]

Yes, once by my next door neighbour - when I got back at 11:30 from a works meeting [at night] the door had been smashed in and laptop, dvd, and various other items were missing. The landlord got someone round that night to secure the place, and at about 2:30 am next door was raided [completely unrelated] and I mean raided with one of those door things that the police use to smash down doors.

apparently the next door neighbour was mixing with the wrong sort and had been 'taken advantage of'; and had been taken to a safe house. The forensics came round the day after and took blood samples as apparently 'there was more blood at my burglary than at most murders' - nice! It was her 'boyfriend' at the time and a mate that burgled me.

the police found my stuff next door and although it wasn't the same people dealing with it, they made the connection and I identified it all in the boot of the police car the next day....and got it back a week or so later.

The suitcase that they took to carry stuff in was soaked with blood [nice] so I chucked that but I cleaned up the dvd player and the laptop and carried on using them.

My OH was burgled 3 times in his house in Nottingham; one time he got home to a person sized hole in his front door. So I basically told him we were moving in together to a nicer area and we've lived together every since.

I was never told what happened with my burglary, apart from he admitted all the other crimes but not this one; that the blood was not his but the goods were at his house. I would call up intermittently and ask but they never got an answer and I tried again a few months back but I'd gone off their systems.

I can live though knowing that their dna is on a database somewhere and if it helps then one day, they might go down for something else.

But it is hard sleeping and even being in a burgled house.

I found lots of cleaning helped - but then I had lots of blood to clean up! Eugh!!!

[bobleponge]

My deepest sympathies, never happened to me but I know the last Mme Leponge was burgled twice, one of the times coming home as they were still in the house. Not a nice ordeal for anyone.
The burglar proof house doesnt exist, if someone is determined enough to break in, they will do, so dont blame yourself. It's that time of year as the police have said, burglaries go up around late November to mid December every year.

[Incy]

Thankfully although we've had our garage and our car broken into we've never had our house burgled. I did ( many years ago) have an intruder in my 4th floor flat who got in through the bathroom window
Even though they took nothing, there were muddy footprints and water all over the bathroom. I suspect it was a workman on the adjoining block who got caught short and hopped over the balcony to borrow the loo but I felt like my privacy had been totally violated.
It's a horrible feeling but it does wear off with time. Big hugs to you. xx

[Florence Fennel]

We were burgled a long time ago and I can understand your feelings of being violated, it's awful. We found my stolen handbag on the garden and the burglar had gone through it and torn up some photographs of my husband and I, so I also had the awful feeling that it was someone who knew us which was even worse! Hope you can be strong and get over it. My good wishes to you. BTW it was after that burglary that we started to raise a succession of German Shepherds!!

[weekendwellies]

I was burgled many years ago. It is horrible knowing that someone uninvited has gone through your personal possessions. I didn't sleep well for some time afterwards, jumping at every small noise. I didn't want to leave home for quite a while either. But life goes on, and you have to go out sometime, for shopping etc. And eventually your body needs a good nights unbroken sleep.
Time is the great healer.
So sorry that you are going through this now.

[ginger ninger]

Someone tried to burgle us New years eve 2000, everyone was out up our little Terrace so it was a perfect opportunity to break in, something must have disturbed them because the seals on the windows had been popped but they hadn't gained access, we were lucky, 5 out of the other 8 houses had been burgled, so we had a costly start to the millennium, we had new P.V C windows in that didn't have there seals on the outside, some sensor lights in the back and over the back door and a burglar alarm, but its already been said if someone is determined enough to get in...they will, ours was only an attempt but it unnerved me for quite a while.
Don't blame yourself its not your fault, there's a lot of scumbags out there that think its OK to take what ever they want and to hell with the upset it causes other people, it might take a while but who ever did this to you will get whats coming to them, I do believe in karma what goes around, comes around, stay strong you will be ok, ((((((((((((((BIG HUGS))))))))))))))).XXX

[moola]

We are lucky enough to have a beach hut and that was smashed into this summer. It felt awful - so upsetting. We put alot of energy and time into it and felt strangely emotionally connected to what is essentially a shed. To have someone come in and smash it up was very disturbing. It felt like a personal attack. We got over it and eventually the worry about it happening again, but it did take time.

To be burgled in your own home - poor you, that must be horrendous. You are not to blame - if people want to get in, they will - no matter what. Just see what you can do to make your house safer. You must feel quite frightened still - I hope that you can find someone to stay with you for a while (is this not a brilliant excuse to spend more time with your boyfriend ). Chocolate and tea needed now, something a tad stronger later.
I hope you feel better about it all soon...

[stella]

I was burgled about a year ago. They did very little damage and the only thing they took was my Mothers rings that I had inherited from her recent death. I had not had time to insure them and now they are gone for good. To me they can not be replaced anyway. No one else in the street was or ever has been burgled and as we dont go out at night very often it makes me think. I still look in all the pawn brokers, just in case and never got any follow up from the police. At least no one was hurt.

[Bagpuss]

Hi Jo

Yes, this happened to me whilst at Uni (house share with two other girls). They managed to pry open a very small window in our downstairs bathroom while we were out one night. Needless to say we all had TV's and computers, as well as the communial bits which all went.

The worst thing for us was that they went through our underwear draws and "entertained" themselves, it was horrific. They ripped all our bedding, the sofa, the beds, smashed the chairs. The house was a complete wreck.

We had to rip the house apart and scrub from top to bottom, almost as if to get "them" out of the house. Time is the only thing which makes you feel a little better.

[FROSTYFRECKLE]

Was burgled in our very first flat in Glasgow. The scroats managed to break down storm doors, then smash our very heavy Victorian inner door. Neighbours never heard anything cause like us they were at work. They came back for "seconds" the next day but were disturbed (this time they had brought a van for the TV etc) The scroats were caught and they admitted to 27 burglaries including ours. We found out where they lived and Mr Frosty wanted to go around with some friends and have a few words with them. But thankfully some friends pointed out he would lose his job plus pension and the scroats were not worth it. Deepest sympathies, it is not nice knowing someone has been through your personal belongings.

[snuffer]

Sorry to read about your recent problems jojo2910. Many years ago, when we lived in Mansfield, our house was burgled whilst I was at work on the night shift. Mrs snuffer was at home with two young children (we only had the two at the time). She thought she heard something during the night but thought it was our neighbours. Fortunately she did not go down to investigate.

They took all the usual stuff: video (no DVDs back then), TV, stereo and money. We were lucky in that they didn't make a mess and confined their activities to the downstairs rooms.

What makes it a little funny (in hindsight) is that; I'd borrowed a video from a friend at work and had been looking forward to playing it before going to bed for the day. Didn't realise we'd been burgled until I tried to put the tape into a machine that was no longer there.