An unfortunate trail of events...

[Esyl]

I agree, it's really sad that things like this happen and go and spoil it. We weren't far from the teepees so I think myself lucky. That said if they wait for people to be a sleep they would have had to wait quite a long time for us to come out of the silent disco!

I got robbed in the same manner (broke into my tent whilst sleeping, took money from my jeans, which were laying next to me on the floor of the tent whilst I was asleep) at a festival 14 years ago so unfortunately it's not even a sigh of recent times. Back then there were no cash point machines at festivals and as others have said this means you don't have to carry as much cash on you - mind you with £2.75 a transaction it's not cheap.

I personally only took the cash I thought I'd need (with a view to escaping off site to a cash point if necessary) and only one card so I didn't have to go to the arse of getting them all cancelled if I was robbed. I also learnt the hard way and now make sure I sleep with my valuables under my pillow or in the bottom of my sleeping bag.

I did see the signs appear on the site saying 'If you leave valuables in your tent they will get nicked' so I guessed there had been issues.

As others have said 'hindsight is a wonderful thing' and perhaps if the police CCTV was around on the Friday night it would have deterred it.

[Medina]

Only time I've been robbed was at the Chorley Wakes Festival in 1978... and I've never camped in a festival tent since!

Anyone know if the police still operate the same system as they did in 78 whereby if you're stranded penniless many miles from home you can go into the nearest cop-shop, phone friends, and if they deposit, say, £50 in your local bobby emporium the cops where you are will pay you £50 to help you live / get home?

Might be worth knowing if that can still happen.

[Stashbox]

This is my post from 2006 , I thought it still holds up. .

I've been thinking about this topic for a while. I remember that many years back when I first went to festivals we always had someone posted to stand guard over the tents.

We always camped with friends and although we had less valuables than the modern day festiveller it was for that reason that if we had our food or sleeping bags stolen, we would not be able to replace them. Most of what we had in the the way of camping equipment was borrowed from parents or in-laws and none of us wanted to go hungry or go home with a sorry tale. :angry:

Back then [1980's onwards] many of the events I was at were 'biker meets' and I witnessed how the Hells Angels metered 'justice' . One afternoon one such thief was hauled up onto the stage in front of several thousand people. The MC introduced this him to us; full name, address, list of thefts committed and then asked the crowd what they thought should be done with him. He was then asked if he would like to be driven with his stash to the local nick or be dealt with there and then in the way the crowd appeared to have favoured. Wisely he chose the former. It drove home the message to any 'would be' thieves in the crowd. Unless they kept their light-fingered hands in their pockets, they too could join him backstage where he was being booted into the back of a Transit van by some representatives of the Angels 'legal dept' It worked, only took 5 minutes of our day and consequently thefts were virtually unheard of . Policing the site required no more than one full-time copper and a couple of Specials . They didn't really need to much more than direct the site traffic in and out of the site entrance, all other security was in-house.

It strikes me that nowadays a fair size proportion of my ticket money is being paid to cover the cost of policing and security. Are we getting protection ? Are we any safer for it ? Is it reducing crime at festivels ? We would probably be just as safe with half the police and security if we were prepared to look out for ourselves a little bit more . I know that to get licences for events and that it has become a neccessary thing to buy in security from specialists and I know that public lynchings are not going to go down too well with most people. However Imo, the fact is that even if a thief is caught at a festival, getting a conviction through a court is at best very difficult and in any event it does not have any impact upon reducing crime in the short term .

Lob 'em in the 'Long drop toilets ' then read 'em their rights....

[gratedenini]

This is my post from 2006 , I thought it still holds up. .

[davi]

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So, the coppers took some time out to show a lighter side and maybe even do a bit of 'bonding' - big deal!

I dare say that, if they'd been aware of the 'scallies', they'd have been on 'normal' duties pretty damn quick.

Make it hard for a few of them, and all you'll accomplish is a HARDER Police presence at next year's Wychwood.

They are NOT the villains in this matter.........

[timespeedsup]

Personally, I always sleep with a crock of me own piss by my right side and some acid from work by me left--and if anybody comes near me mumbling words of "OoooSorry mate, wrong place" --- they get both crocks.

[gratedenini]

3. Tent that actually has a deep pit just inside which can't be seen at night - thief falls into pit and can't get out. Can be left there the whole weekend.....

[timespeedsup]

3. Tent that actually has a deep pit just inside which can't be seen at night - thief falls into pit and can't get out. Can be left there the whole weekend.....

...and then tip both crocks over em?

laugh number 2 ?

goooo--on man cekkle yer likkle knapper off.....

[5co77ie]

My thoughts are-

that they mainly target people who were asleep - how do they know? It's been bugging me since the rash of thefts in 2005 - then I realised they target tents where people are snoring. I think the rozzers should set up honey trap tents with snoring coppers in them. But how can you ensure the old bill are tired enough to sleep soundly? Simple have them party like loons at the silent disco - only troulbe was then they couldn't find their way home to their trap tents and ended up in other people's.

My advice is wear a money belt and stay up until it's getting light watching the tents in your group then go to bed - that's what i do.

On the upside they only steal your money now, not everything including your women and children.

[eFestivals]

It's not all doom and gloom.

I've been going to festivals for over 25 years and in that time all I've had stolen has been a washbag (at Glasto, in 95 I think). So while robbings do happen ands it's of course maddening if it happens to you, it isn't the experience of most people.

[Dr Seuss]

My advice is wear a money belt and stay up until it's getting light watching the tents in your group then go to bed - that's what i do.

[magnusmouse]

Absolutely agree.

Luckily, I've never been robbed at a festival but we are usually awake all night. The only time we've had anything near a problem was when someone tried to get in our tents at Eastern Haze last year; We were awake and he was impolitely told to go away.

[shugie]

My son has a toy "spy alarm" which bleeps if you walk in front of it. Seems to be effective enough, not too loud, so I'm going to take that to the next festival and set it up to cover the non-sleeping bit of our temporary domicile.

[rainbow girl]

I may be speaking out of turn here (and I'm sure you will shoot me down if I am ), but surely all festivals suffer from theft problems, unfortunately, and Wychwood is clearly attended by a lot of middle class, well off families, who may not be your usual festival goers and therefore perhaps a little more naive than your seasoned festival attender, and this would make it a more attractive and therefore easier site to be able to get away with theft from tents?

To complain that the police were seen dancing in the silent disco, and, heaven forbid, possible enjoying themselves, is, in my opinion, a little unfair - if they'd been walking around looking totally serious, or perhaps in High-Visibility police uniforms, I bet there would be a thread by now complaining about how overbearing they were.

It may well have been a police strategy to allow some of the officers to spend their breaks (and, yes, they are allowed refreshment breaks ) being seen to enjoy themselves, so as not to frighten people into thinking that something sinister was going on. Just a thought

[davi]

I may be speaking out of turn here (and I'm sure you will shoot me down if I am ), but surely all festivals suffer from theft problems, unfortunately, and Wychwood is clearly attended by a lot of middle class, well off families, who may not be your usual festival goers and therefore perhaps a little more naive than your seasoned festival attender, and this would make it a more attractive and therefore easier site to be able to get away with theft from tents?

To complain that the police were seen dancing in the silent disco, and, heaven forbid, possible enjoying themselves, is, in my opinion, a little unfair - if they'd been walking around looking totally serious, or perhaps in High-Visibility police uniforms, I bet there would be a thread by now complaining about how overbearing they were.

It may well have been a police strategy to allow some of the officers to spend their breaks (and, yes, they are allowed refreshment breaks ) being seen to enjoy themselves, so as not to frighten people into thinking that something sinister was going on. Just a thought

[marooned]

...some of us even have Rolls Royce Chairs worth stealing!!!!!!

[davi]

...some of us even have Rolls Royce Chairs worth stealing!!!!!!

[marooned]

... I HAVE witnessed the 'Quality' - any chair that can withstand the Stella-swaying of The Grate Denini is, indeed a chair amongst chairs.

I do believe that the residents of the council estate behind the Racecourse (you know, the place where the robbers, undoubtably, came from) is now awash with such chairs, with the great unworking sitting on them from morning til night watching Jeremy Kyle and The World's Fattest Git!!!

Edited June 6, 2008 by marooned

[festguest]

no, they're not the villains, but had they been doing the job the festival had no choice but to pay them for then perhaps these thefts wouldn't have happened.

[gratedenini]

In reply to various comments about the police being paid lots of money by the festival organisers; I happen to know that yes the police should have charged the festival lots of money for the 25 officers that they put in to cover the hours of 10am-2am over the weekend but the festival couldn't afford it. However to support the festival and in the hope that their visable presence during the daytime and in to the night may have been a deterrent, the police put their officers in for FREE - they didn't even get fed by the festival.

On various occasions I watched the police escorting people out who had managed to break in to the festival site, only to manage to persuade these people to then buy tickets to come back in.

The late night policing was for the whole site - there was always a police/security presence within the campsite. But as there was only one place where all the audience was past 11pm (some in varying states of conciousness) then as part of their rounds they would have to check on the Big Top and yes they may have been curious as to how the disco worked. Unfortunately the theives were waiting for people to return from the disco to their tents which was after 2am when the police finished their duties for the night, so they would not have been able to assist in the prevention of the thefts as they were taking place.

I thought that both the police and the security teams did a fantastic job over the weekend - they were all very friendly and approachable at any time and as people have already said, these theives know exactly what they are doing and with such a huge campsite there is a limit to what can be covered. Unfortunately the campers just need to become more aware and responsible for their own security within their tents - once people have a few drinks they seem to think that a tent is as safe as their house!

Well done to both the police and the security - you did the absolute best you could on a very difficult site!

[cathys]

Yeah--i`m afraid i have to agree. And with Rainbow Girl.

Mind--- no "policing" comes free --if a bobby is there --somebody is paying for him---ie rate payer.

Although I`m not exactly pro-police , they do get stick for everything dont they. I`ve been to lots of places with a lot worse police forces than we`ve got.

Boring but -- everybody is responsible for their own stewardship of possessions --drunk sober or whatever.

A point here mind is -- for all we are posting about it-- i think there has only been one or two foks who actually DID get robbed --gave any feelings or info about it (on here).

I`m going to the Metro Centre now with TKoTW -- I intend using him as a foil whilst i steal goods of my want.

"It was `im officer --he made me do it!"

..then they let you off......if I`m not on here the neet--I`m in a newcastle nick.

Den --whoooarh --I`m a bit like that --and whooarh I`m a bit like this (fast Show)

[cathys]

As a first timer at Wychwood and one of the "victims" of the Friday night thieves I can assure you that those of us who were robbed do have "feelings" other than that of gullibility for thinking that keeping my cash in a wallet inside a zipped up bag at the back of my tent next to my head was adequate. My six year old son with whom I was sharing the tent was extremely bothered about the fact that someone had been in when we were asleep to the extent that I could not leave him in the charge of his 16 year old brother on the following nights (so had to miss out on the comedy/silent disco). I wasn't too happy either at the idea of some toe-rag possibly carrying a knife crawling in beside me as I slept. Losing the cash was painful but not as much of a concern as the upset caused to my family.

[gratedenini]

As a first timer at Wychwood and one of the "victims" of the Friday night thieves I can assure you that those of us who were robbed do have "feelings" other than that of gullibility for thinking that keeping my cash in a wallet inside a zipped up bag at the back of my tent next to my head was adequate. My six year old son with whom I was sharing the tent was extremely bothered about the fact that someone had been in when we were asleep to the extent that I could not leave him in the charge of his 16 year old brother on the following nights (so had to miss out on the comedy/silent disco). I wasn't too happy either at the idea of some toe-rag possibly carrying a knife crawling in beside me as I slept. Losing the cash was painful but not as much of a concern as the upset caused to my family.

[marooned]

...and I'm with you too Cathys - the thought of someone with a weapon crawling in beside me!!!!!!!

Sends shivers up me spine!!

[gratedenini]

...and I'm with you too Cathys - the thought of someone with a weapon crawling in beside me!!!!!!!

Sends shivers up me spine!!