Service station robbery - not an urban myth

[bygeorgejenny]

Meant to say

Sorry - forgot to say. My ex did not drink at all (nor any other substances!). Although he was probably tired someone would have had to have had physical contact due to the height of the roof when they crawled over him and to have been extremely confident that whatever they did he would not wake up. No matter how tired, a body crawling over him would have woken him

I am really sorry to hear you had such a dreadful trip and thank you for trying to spare others this ordeal.

Jen

 

[bygeorgejenny]

Ridiculed

Having been the victim of a service station theft I can fully sympathise with the OP. my ordeal took place at a service station in France. I had parked for a few hours rest after driving for 10 hours and travelling 13 hours in total. I also had a substantial amount of cash stolen, I won't post how much on here to be ridiculed by others. The French police also suggested to me that we may have been the victims of a gas attack however, I never believed this. I rather believe that after such a long drive and ferry crossing we where absolutely shattered. I even remember the vehicle drawing alongside our van and hearing young voices (kids) and thinking they where up late, normally I would have investigated or at least moved on but being so tired I turned over and slept. We were in a fixed bed at the back of the van they entered through the front passenger door and thankfully only took our money leaving credit cards and passports. I dread to think of the outcome if I had awoken to find someone in the van in the early hours. I found the French police less than sympathetic towards our plight and very quick to pass it off as a gas attack , in their view a victimless crime. I awoke with no side effects, bright eyed and bushy tailed only to be brought down to earth with a bump.

I think it is really sad that members have learned by experience (their own or others) that other members may "ridicule" their comments on this site, I have read some of the responses to this thread and whilst everyone is entitled to an opinion it is sad that some of us think that sarcastic and rude comments are anything other than offensive and hurtful.

 

[sean rua]

David and Mary,

I certainly do not know what happened you, but, unlike the "experts" on here, I am prepared to believe that you were robbed.

On here, we get a hard-core minority who, though ready to hide behind the Law on any little matter that affects their ice-creamvan, and who often speak of hob-nobbing with the gavvers, are, at the same time, always up for portraying police officers as right diblos.

I don't know why you came on here telling of your experiences, as all they will do is try to take the pi ss.
On the other hand, if your account had been penned by some Daily Mail reporter about a stolen caravan or the like, you would have received hundreds of pounds to aid your cause ( not!) from the generous souls.

My personal view - and unlike some on here, I have no phd in chemistry or any expertise in gases - is that the ill-effects that seem to befall so many motorhomers is down largely to the fumes from fridge, lavatory, and cooking, all in a confined space.
Add to this "driving fatigue", and the effects of different wine, air, and water, and I think the least you can hope to get away with is a splitting headache and a bad taste in the mouth.

Also, please remember that nothing bad can be said about anywhere on the European Continent, but anywhere in Great Britain has to be slagged to the limit at every opportunity.
With these considerations, you may get a better reception, imo. It could pay to have a fixation with all things "supermarket" too. Then you could have a really good chuckle about the most sombre of matters.

Don't have nightmares and keep 'em peeled!


sean rua.

 

[666jw]

I went to France and did not get Gassed, Robbed or Mugged once. How boring is that

Richard

The trip or your post !!

 

[ivecotrucker]

Those of our travelling community who are robbed surely deserve our sympathy &/or constructive comment regardless of how the crime was carried out.

It is not for the rest of us who were not present at the scene to totally dismiss "gassing" - it is theoretically possible but highly unlikely.

Firstly, ether does NOT have a wide safety tolerance as quoted in a previous post; the margin between successful anaesthesis & death is fairly small. Those of a certain age may recall how many patients used to die in the Dentist's chair many years ago when ether was the principal anaesthetic in use after 'laughing gas' was discontinued.

Successful use of an inhaled, gaseous anaesthetic, as opposed to an injectable, requires the following information:

the weight & number of occupants
the internal volume of the vehicle
the internal temperature of the vehicle
the vapour pressure of the anaesthetic within the vehicle

-- failure to accurately measure these parameters will result in death or non-aesthesis of the occupants.
This is why anaesthicians have many years training. Tony Lee hit the nail on the head - " how many campervan/caravan deaths have been reported ? ".

I have entered our vehicle & slammed the cargo door shut (a WhizzBang as Mr Lee calls them !) without waking my wife (she was asleep at home but the girlfriend in the truck was awaken !)(only joking).

I suggest we need to look elsewhere to explain non-awakening dogs/occupants during break-ins.

 

[ivecotrucker]

I'm not going to comment about the gassing bit, but some scoffed on this forum when I told of the security measures I've fitted to my van before going on my 6 month Europe trip. These include: deadlocks to the cab doors, fold-over handle to habitation door, small screech alarms to all windows and roof hatch, sliding dead locks to garage doors, quick release bolts to inside habitation door for when I'm inside. I also have 2 safes, I easy access for a little cash and one that requires me to empty half the van and virtually stand on my head to access for the things I don't need often but can't afford to lose. My breakdown insurance cost me an extra £5 to cover the loss of keys and replacement locks if necessary.

I totally agree its well over the top, the vehicle has a Sigma alarm designed for a Motorhome with Perimeter arming so I can arm it when I'm inside. I also have a carbon monoxide alarm that will go off if I break wind lol.

I'm not a scaredy cat, I'm ex army, but it's bloody inconvenient if these scrotes decide to help themselves to your gear. I believe the visual deterrent is enough to make them move onto easier targets but accept that if someone wants to get in they will. They would have to be pretty stupid to hang around with alarms going off and any small child put in to open a door from the inside would have to get out the same way as he got in if I was not in the van or face me if I was.

I too have put myself in the firing line for insulting comments but I invested too much in my van, my tools and my goodies that I like to carry with me to make it easy to to separate me from them. If you don't have any visible security best not park next to me.

Daiboy

Hi Dai,

I've not been on the Forum lately (computer problems & too much travelling); sorry to hear some have scoffed at your security measures. Having seen your new vehicle H. & I think youv'e done an excellent & sensible job. Well done !!.

 

[sean rua]

Just a minute, Sir David,

I know that in your childish adolescent way you always like to have the last word on any matter, but was it not the police officers who told David and Mary that they were victims of a "gassing"?

You have told us all many times how superior everybody on the Continent is in comparison to folk in Great Britain, but now you appear to be telling us that these police officers who spoke to David and Mary are every bit as daft as the ones where you come from, Hampshire ( yeah, I know you said you were born in Blackpool and raised in London, so save yourself a rant about that for the time being).

Btw, I take it that you are a qualified scientist yourself, so may I ask again the question I posed earlier? Is it possible for folk to die in their sleep in motorhomes from the effects of carbon monoxide?

sean rua.

 

[Channa]

J, so may I ask again the question I posed earlier? Is it possible for folk to die in their sleep in motorhomes from the effects of carbon monoxide?

sean rua.

It certainly is Sean a colleague of one of the showman I worked for died in a caravan about 3 years ago.

The scary part of it all was the only appliance lit was a carver fire while she was asleep. They are room sealed and when the HSE inspected it, it was found to be in perfect order.

The carver vents through the floor, the theory they came up with is an animal snuggled to the vent for warmth there was snow on the ground, and the combustants found there way back into the van.

Channa

 

[Monkey]

Win... Please remember that Shawn has the "ALL SEEING EYE" . It sits between his legs.

 

[Harmergeddon]

I get gased everytime sleep in my motorhome. How much though depends entirely on the menu of the previous nights meal. :lol-061:

Sorry to hear about the robbery.

 

[Tbear]

The trip or your post !!

Hi 666jw,

I am guessing that you just meant to be rude but I think you made my point. This sort of thread just goes on and on. We all do feel sorry for someone who has had there holiday ruined by a thief or at least I hope most of us do. The evidence on gassing is clear to all who can read. The rest will just scare the gullible into not enjoying their holiday. Stay of the roads if you are worried about your safety. Can we please put this to bed until there is clear evidence of someone being gassed and robbed.

Richard

 

[666jw]

Hi 666jw,

I am guessing that you just meant to be rude but I think you made my point. This sort of thread just goes on and on. We all do feel sorry for someone who has had there holiday ruined by a thief or at least I hope most of us do. The evidence on gassing is clear to all who can read. The rest will just scare the gullible into not enjoying their holiday. Stay of the roads if you are worried about your safety. Can we please put this to bed until there is clear evidence of someone being gassed and robbed.

Richard

Hi Tbear,

I am worried about my safety no more or less than your good self . I to have also been to France, and not been gassed, mugged or robbed. I do however sympathise with anybody unlucky enough to have experienced any of these.. We are however different in that, I didn't find my trip boring !! You were probably making up a silly statement which the original poster and many others affected no doubt found quite rude and a little patronising. if my post also came across as short to the point and also a trifle rude, I was only simply replying in the same manner.

Jw

 

[r4dent]

Hi, The original poster here (aka “plonker who deserves to be robbed”, “someone who is clearly rather careless” etc).

Prior to my trip I had never met anyone whose Motorhome/ Caravan had been broken into at a service station (it was always “a friend of a cousin’s workmate ‘s uncle” or someone or a similar remoteness), and I assumed that it was an urban myth.

I don’t know if we were gassed (original “The Police suspect that we were gassed”) or not. I do know that we were robbed and that the van suffered knife damage

I posted to share my experience with my fellow motorhomers in the hope that someone may change their routine and avoid a similar occurrence.

Thank you to those that offered sympathy and understanding.

To those who offered abuse and insults, I hope you never reap what you sow.

On a practical level you may be interested to know that both my travel insurance and house contents have indicated that they will be paying out towards the cash stolen. The total will be considerably less than what was stolen, but every little helps. One way of looking at it is that nothing was taken from us, but the kids will be inheriting less than anticipated.

Another piece of good news . The damage to the bike which a main dealer said would be £200 for parts and labour was repaired by a plastic welding company (I’d never heard of such a thing) for under a tenner.

 

[sean rua]

Nice result to a nasty incident, r4dent!
I'm glad it worked out better than expected.

sean rua.

 

[lebesset]

I think the thing that most people overlook is how tiring travelling is , both when driving and when a passenger ; I suspect that most people sleep much more deeply than they normally do

have just driven north through france in the heat ; the first night was so hot that my wife decided to sleep on the sofa , and I slept as normal in the drop down double ; when I woke in the morning there she was in her normal place which is inside me at the front ; her explanation....the temperature dropped when it rained heavily ,and she got cold with no bedding ...... so she decided to join me ; unfortunately I was sleeping in the middle of the bed , so she turned me to the edge and climbed over me , covering us both with a duvet

did I wake up , I asked ? you cannot be serious , she replied , you just kept snoring , you could have been murdered in your bed !

and we wonder why people can get in and not wake us !!!

 

[hextal]

I slept through a fire alarm the other night after a friends wedding. To be fair i had drunk my body weight in beer though.

 

[n brown]

just to lower the tone. I have slept in dosshouses where other unfortunates would steal the blankets from sleepers.the trick is to do it nice and steady.i watched a guy do it and it took about 20 minutes,and the victim wasn't drunk

 

[mariesnowgoose]

When did you stay at our house, mr brown?! (no quilt again this morning...!)

 

[jakekelly]

service station robbery ( OH MY GOD WE ARE HERE)

WE are in the process of traveling thro france down to spain, estartit (32') used 4 aires to get to here, & absolutly no problems, i have asked other french & belgium campers about this gassing , EACH AND EVERYONE HAS SAID"I have heard about it but no one knows the person or persons involved, its always a friend of a friends brothers uncle that it happened to. if the person invoved will get in contact with me i will be in calis on the 14th august, if they can give me visible proof of the incident(police statement for insurance claim)I will catagorically verify their claim on this web site , but there again they could do that themselves by copying & posting the police confirmation report on here

I want to make it clear to all, if said incident happened they have my sincere sympathy, but france is generally safe place,& same as anywhere else ,use youre basic common sense.I would really like to put this one in the bin as it must put a lot of people off the experience of visting this beautiful country(s) by camper van. come on down the sun is shining (PS.1ltr. of grants whisky 9.5euros in the super mercats):drive::camper:

I POST THIS WITH GOOD INTENTIONS ,NOT I REPEAT NOT TO START AN ARGUMENT! :sucks:

 

[r4dent]

if the person invoved will get in contact with me i will be in calis on the 14th august, if they can give me visible proof of the incident(police statement for insurance claim)I will catagorically verify their claim on this web site , but there again they could do that themselves by copying & posting the police confirmation report on here

:

Doesn't anyone read things before they post a reply?
The incident happened in Belgium not France.
I also thought it only happened to "a friend of a friends brothers uncle" and when it happened to me I posted it to warn others to be more careful than I was, and not in an attempt to stop people going over.

Since you ask I've attached the Police Certificate; my statement; a photo of the damage and a photo of my van with the Police car alongside. I've hidden my personal details, I hope you can accept that.



I look forward to you "catagorically" (sic) verifying my claim and posting an abject apology forthwith!

P.S.
I won't be in calis (sic) on 14th. But if you PM me for my address you could call in on your way home and see the damage and original documents. That should stop you saying I've photo shopped the pictures.