Feeling so......bleurgh.

bagpussbear

Very sorry to hear this happened.

I can relate to your situation, when I moved here (we've been here less than a year) there was a short gap between the previous owners moving out and us moving in, and some scum decided to come onto the property and rip out our copper piping and lead covering on part of the roof. It left the gas supply pumping out into the garden and means we had no heating for a few days until we got someone in to fix it (it was mid November).

Then a couple of months ago we had someone set fire to our fence. It was only by pure chance I spotted the smoke and we had to call the fire brigade to put it out. I was so upset, why do people do such stupid things for fun, that can be so dangerous.

But there have been a couple of things which have helped us feel better, which might help you?

Firstly, put up a CCTV fake camera, we have one that flashes, and the community police say, despite my initial disbelief, that they are a genuine deterrent.

Secondly, call on the services of your community police and strike up a good relationship with them, ask them to consider if they would patrol your street a little more, as having more visible police presence around can help too.

Both these things made us feel a little safer.

I do hope its just one of those one off things where you were unlucky, and that you can put it behind you and enjoy your new home.

Kayalana99

Don't want to alarm you but I'd be tad worried it was a planned attack, i.e someone out to get the prevouis owners ...but not knowing they had moved.

gwen80

I don't understand why/how either....I cling onto the hope that karma exists. When I bought my house, I viewed it, it looked ok...when I got the keys it was disgusting. I've never seen so much cat fur all over the carpets and the bathroom had been left in a disgusting state. I sat in my new house and cried that night. Barstewards!

pops5588

Thank you so much for those suggestions bagpuss. I am so sorry you went through all that, although I feel slightly less alone in it all now

I did think it might possibly have been targetted, but the problem is if the relevant authorities refuse to investigate how will we ever know? They could just keep coming back if that's the case, and that does make me feel nervous.

bagpussbear

Get back onto the police and ask if a community police person could come round, or I think you can pop in to see them. Say you've had this incident and wish to know more about keeping your property secure.

I do think it's probably just a one-off, but I know you're worrying it could happen again because it feels so 'personal' doesn't it.

Have you spoken with your neighbours, good chance to say hello to them and ask if they have experienced any problems. If no-one has, might put your mind at rest its just 'one of those things'. Or give you some background on the previous owners.

dreamdreamer

Sounds like a horrible few weeks on top of the stress of moving house.

Speak to the council again, with the crime reference number they should be replacing it for free if it's damaged beyond repair. Ask them to take the old one away while they're at it as well as it's their property!

2 months after we moved into our seemingly quiet elderly street my bike was stolen, literally wrenched from the wall along with most of the guttering it was locked too in the middle of the night. We were quite worried about the area after that but the lady next door said she couldn't remember the last time she'd seen the police in the street! And 3 years later we've had no further problems so hopefully you just got unlucky. Speak to the neighbours for a gauge on the old people and crime in the area.

chickenpants

It's horrible isn't it, you move in and expect everything to be as when you viewed it. We had carpets jumping with fleas, previous owners took everything they could, all light bulbs, screws from fittings such as socket covers so everything was hanging on by 1 screw and the kitchen cupboards were covered in cat fur inside! Then a few weeks later we found damp in my daughters bedroom that cost us a fortune to fix, the previous owners hadn't declared it and it hadn't been picked up on the survey! I guess now we know why it had been freshly painted in quite a dark colour when we viewed it. People can be horrible can't they :grouphug:

pops5588

My hope and faith has been restored slightly by the fact that when we got home after work last night a few neighbours came round to see if we were alright and if we needed anything

It's frustrating because I think quite a few people in the community are concerned about the lack of reaction by the police to crimes like this, so I definitely think I am going to take the advice from here and contact a community support officer and at least ask someone to attempt to reassure us. Gave the incident number to the council and they have waived the charge, so we are slowly getting there.