Campsite Theft - BE AWARE !!!

[redstu]

anyone looking for a car safe could try maplins

http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?ModuleNo=98818&doy=21m6#overview

currently on offer at £40

just need to keep the key safe, perhaps attached to a personal piercing!

[Radar]

Hi Mark - Sorry to read about your experience. We were also camped on Bleu Nord. On the Friday night a scrote nicked the Lotus badge off my brother's Elise, leaving a nice big gouge in the paint (repair est. £600) - and walking round the campsite next day it seems there were plenty of others who had the same problem. It got worse on race night when they went off with a quad bike that belonged to my mate's son. We've had minor thefts at LM over the past 10 years but nothing like this. It's pretty clear that there's some organised thieving going on, especially in sites like Bleu Nord where people have a long way to go to get trackside and it gets very quiet. I'm glad to read below that a few of the scrotes did at least get a good kicking.

[lynxd67]

I had lunch with a bar owner today who had people camping behind the bar and both Friday and Saturday night the pikeys came at 4am. Their trick is to start a bit of a staged fight with lots of noise a short way away to divert attention and then the others nip in behind your backs and ransack the tents. Next year she is employing a man and very vicious alsatian. I hope he inadvertantly lets it off the lead!

[welsh_soup_dragon]

I had lunch with a bar owner today who had people camping behind the bar and both Friday and Saturday night the pikeys came at 4am. Their trick is to start a bit of a staged fight with lots of noise a short way away to divert attention and then the others nip in behind your backs and ransack the tents. Next year she is employing a man and very vicious alsatian. I hope he inadvertantly lets it off the lead!

was that the bar outside exbo i saw about 10 french blokes fighing out side there on thursday night that would of been about 4 in the morning should chop off there hands that would stop them thiving

[Mezza]

YES!!! Bring in old medieval punishment methods...and first chop off hand and then ask questions  ...like is that your hand?

[nopanic - neil]

YES!!! Bring in old medieval punishment methods...and first chop off hand and then ask questions  ...like is that your hand?

In some parts of the world, is it not - What ever part of the body offends - Chop it Off,

Good job we only talking apart nicking, 

[rcutler]

YES!!! Bring in old medieval punishment methods...and first chop off hand and then ask questions  ...like is that your hand?

In some parts of the world, is it not - What ever part of the body offends - Chop it Off,

Good job we only talking apart nicking, 

Well seing as they nicked my flagpole and bird:

The pole will be inserted a long way up the ar*e! 10 meter pole 
My Bird! Well you know what I will chop off for that!

[MIKE C (Liverpool Boys)]

(hand them over avec bruises if you get the chance)

Ooh, take a bit of care though....
On the way back to our camp on Sunday morning about four-ish, I thought I'd drop in on the Liverpool boys, hoping for a late night cleansing ale. I have to admit to being very tiddly, and while I was standing in the dark next to their gazebo wondering what to do next, Mike C crept up behind me like Colonel Mustard on steroids complete with the lead piping and all ready to seperate me from what was left of my brains. Luckily he recognised me, and when I heard "Oh, it's you H!", and turned round to see him I nearly feinted from fright. We had a good laugh once he brought me round...
Can we hire him for next year?
H

Sorry H
I was sober at the time, the lead pipe was infact a 6 cell mag light, a relic of my days as a pub manager.

[Christopher]

Seems our group had a lucky time at KN then.

Or maybe because we were camped near to the 'cleaning family' there was always someone around, so that acted as a deterrent.

Or it could just be that they looked at out minimal gear and decided not to bother.

I had advised all our party to carry everything important with them at all times, but that still would not have stopped anyone trying the tents whilst we slept.

From the posts on CA it seems the incident of theft was worse this year.

Someone previously mentioned a letter to the ACO, is that the best course of action?

Those on the inside (that have regular contact with the ACO and sometimes their ear) what do you think is the best way to highlight this rather miserable side to LM?

[garyfrogeye]

Having a car with no boot, windows and no door handles (so no locks either), I wear a very unfashonable "bum bag" all weekend, with passport, money, credit cards, car keys etc. in it. When I'm asleep, it's in the sleeping bag with me. Everything else of any value is up the oposite side of the tent to the door, although I suppose they could cut through that end if they wanted. Seems to work for me.

[nopanic - neil]

Sorry H
I was sober at the time, the lead pipe was infact a 6 cell mag light, a relic of my days as a pub manager.

Reminds me of a guy I know, a few years ago, his mate across the road got his car window smashed and the youths run off with goods - this was late a night.

He and the guy went after them, as they ran into a industrial area, he took a cricket bat with him. When they cornered him by a building he brought the youth down with the cricket bat and caught him. When they hand him over to the police, they were happy because this guy had been doing a lot of damage in the area.

But they adviced him next time not to use a cricket bat, but to get a big mag lite - just as effective and legal to carry. - I think

[Christopher]

Having a car with no boot, windows and no door handles (so no locks either), I wear a very unfashonable "bum bag" all weekend, with passport, money, credit cards, car keys etc. in it. When I'm asleep, it's in the sleeping bag with me. Everything else of any value is up the oposite side of the tent to the door, although I suppose they could cut through that end if they wanted. Seems to work for me.

I have a similar problem......the car has a boot but cannot be locked, and I have to leave the roof at home due to space for tent and other gear, so I end up carrying everything in my camera bag.

But now they are stealing from tents whilst we slumber, which means my camera bag is at risk, so it looks like I will have to find an alternative arrangment for next year.

[Steve Pyro]

...... But they adviced him next time not to use a cricket bat, but to get a big mag lite - just as effective and legal to carry. - I think

A police friend normally advises people to keep an unused roll of wallpaper 'close to hand' at home in case of a break in - surprising heavy and solid when used as a baton.

[RoverMan]

Always disappointing to hear of things like this, we talk about degeneration of society and think it is a British thing, looks like it is happening en-France as well.
I didn't camp, I just parked in Parking Blanc on Saturday night. I managed to 'loose' my MRI wrist-band, my mobile and pedometer (I like to know how many miles I walk - 16 this year!) as I sprinted by to my car in a shower. Didn't realise what I didn't have as I made my way back to the circuit later. I retraced my steps and found all my lost items! (including all the bits of my phone as it had comeapart when it hit the ground).
I slept in my car, with the doors locked and all my valuables in my sleeping bag.

On a point of detail, we are now in the EU so don't in theory need a Passport to travel between countries! I have proved this on a booze-cruise when one of our party forgot his passport. We got to Calais without being challenged, on entry back into the UK, we explained to the nice lady customs officer what we had done. Her only comment was 'bloody French - they'll let anyone in!'

[Piglet]

On a point of detail, we are now in the EU so don't in theory need a Passport to travel between countries! I have proved this on a booze-cruise when one of our party forgot his passport. We got to Calais without being challenged, on entry back into the UK, we explained to the nice lady customs officer what we had done. Her only comment was 'bloody French - they'll let anyone in!'

Sorry not true for the UK, we didn't enter into the treaty that allows free travel across borders so our borders are still intact (think it was the Schengen treaty?).   Plus in mainland europe you need an official form of ID which in most cases is an ID card as we don't have these it would still need to be a passport anyway.   My half German niece and nephew use their German ID cards to travel around mainland Europe but have to use their British Passports to come into the UK.