Last minute warning about tent thefts

[Ohinever]

Buy fake poo and vomit, and leave it outside the entrance to your tent.

Winner.

[Styliko]

Always leave a fake wallet with old cards, and a few coins left in the tent

[snedd88]

I have camped in Pennard Hill two of the three times I've been and once a friends tent was 'broken into'. This theive had a bit of a ritual, what he/she did was as follows -

Entered somebodys tent grabbed what they could then went to the next victim, while in the next tent got all the valuables form the previous tents wallet etc and and ditched the empty wallet in the tent they were in and repeated the process over and over. This confused everyone and and in my experience my friend found somebody elses (empty) wallet in his tent and was obviously like 'wtf?' ....then proceeded to walk around our area shoting out the guys name which was on his driving licence. This said person shouted out 'thats me!' handed wallet over and discussed what was going on.

This guy then went into his tent to check it over and found somebody elses wallet in his tent!!

A very disturbing theive. So if you find anyone elese stuff in or near your tent then ask about as its likely to be near by.

Even though this happened, it was only once in 3 years and it's most definately not stopping me from camping in Pennard again this year! Best spot in the festival!! see you all there!!

BE SAFE.

[bunter]

Best tip i can give (other than use the lockups) is keep a tent peg handy and once you are in for the night put it through the zip tag on the inside of the tent and push it into the ground, any one trying to open it from the outside just thinks the zips "stuck" and moves onto the next one, can be used during the day as well just more difficult to get the peg in.

Don`t on any account be tempted to use any type of lock that is visible from the outside.

have a good one and stay safe.

[Styliko]

Thanks for the tip theboilerman

[jaseofon]

Do the lock-ups allow you to put booze in there? Thinking of putting a couple of crates in when I first get there, take one out Thursday, one out Saturday as an example.

[hannahlmoore]

Any suggestions for how you package your items you leave in the lock-ups for easy identification and safekeeping - I am thinking of leaving cash and spare car key.

I was intending to leaving my trolley in the tent, but reading through the threads I wonder if should be storing that as well.

[missgeevious]

Trouble with that solution is that you will probably be wasted and they will be buzzing with adrenaline and alert (and no doubt have an accomplice with them outside) and they are likely to grab the bit of wood and cave your head in. Just sleep with what you are happy to lose and keep the rest in the lockups and then you can sleep in peace without risking injury. Sounds like a wimp's solution but I'm sure CCcheese would agree having no doubt seen a few have-a-go heroes in the morgue. Just a couple of weeks ago someone did a similar thing (in a small town in Italy) and the group of teenagers simply took the stick and caved the man's head in (dead).

[rabid]

Great ideas for securing your tent doors, they'll never get in now!

Use the lockups!

[slat]

On the same theme as the string, I use clear cable ties inside the tent to secure the two zips together. Less visible than string and easier to fasten when you're wasted.

Just remember you need a knife to cut each day! They're also handy for attaching bits to your rucksack with no chance of them coming off.

[boop2010]

Strange people coming in my tent whilst i am asleep, yikes!! I am off to the zoo to get a pet tiger for the week!! With all the planning and packing have not had time to even think of theiving mo fo's, thanks for the tip about peg

[DeanoL]

Once you're in you can always tie each end of a rape alarm to each of the tent zips... just make sure your mates know not to try and unzip your tent... you may also not prove that popular with the surrounding camp site if there's a genuine drunken wrong tent mistake...

[muddyslingbax]

Liking the peg idea.

We put chairs and upturned sack trolley in our 'porch'.

Alternatively, just camp in Dairy; only lovely people there...apart from the student with the crap indie music who insisted on signing to it in a 'shouldn't i be on x factor' kinda way

[poolieboydave]

Niche.

[DaveMac]

Strange people coming in my tent whilst i am asleep, yikes!! I am off to the zoo to get a pet tiger for the week!! With all the planning and packing have not had time to even think of theiving mo fo's, thanks for the tip about peg

[*Stevie B*]

How about a safety pin through the two zip holes? Ive got a whole stash of them. There handy to tie your pockets together as not to loose anything.

[muddyslingbax]

How about a safety pin through the two zip holes? Ive got a whole stash of them. There handy to tie your pockets together as not to loose anything.

[mimp]

I've had one person come in to my tent. I woke up and shouted something sweary, they responded, 'oh sorry wrong tent' and legged it. Next morning turned out a few people had been robbed.

Also had my booze stolen once but I suspect that may have been one of the large groups of teenagers camped near us (noticed suspiciously similar empties in their giant pile of rubbish as I was leaving).

Both times have been when I've camped fairly centrally but that might be coincidence.

Anyway, use the lockups. If you've nothing worth much in your tent the worst you'll get is a bit of a fright. I'd be a bit wary of trying to fasten zips or anything, I'd rather someone stuck their head in my tent then cut a big hole in the side, and you want to be able to get out in a hurry if needs be.

[Walter Sobchak]

Liking the peg idea.

We put chairs and upturned sack trolley in our 'porch'.

Alternatively, just camp in Dairy; only lovely people there...apart from the student with the crap indie music who insisted on signing to it in a 'shouldn't i be on x factor' kinda way

[Paadzer]

Do the lock-ups allow you to put booze in there? Thinking of putting a couple of crates in when I first get there, take one out Thursday, one out Saturday as an example.

[jimmyt]

Loving Boilerman's tent peg idea - noted and planned for. I have always made sure I have a can of deodorant next to me in bed. I've only used it once (at Reading, a long time ago) and I'm pretty sure I blinded the f***er, as he tried to snatch my wallet from next to my head.

Word of warning, though.

Don't try and get too elaborate with this, as my mate did at Reading in about '04. Yes, a flame-thrower made using a deodorant can and a lighter will scare off the robber - but there won't be much of the front of your tent left!

[kel110uk]

At Leeds 09 I woke at 4am to find a man in my tent, he got away with my bag but it was the violation of my private space that was the worst thing. I have to say I've always felt very safe at Glasto and have never had any trouble with theft or the like. In fact, in an extremely inebriated state in 2008 I managed to leave my bag by the Other Stage one night, I retrieved it the next morning from the lovely lost property people at the farm - all content including phone, camera, cash etc intact!

[LynseyDiva]

I usually keep my bra on and sleep with my phone in one side, cash in the other, as I heard one year at TitP there was a few sleeping bags being slashed by knife-happy thieves, and I can sleep through a bomb! Only been broken into once, luckily I was in the tent and awake - I threw my plastic hammer at the guy's head and he beat a hasty retreat!

[harderfaster]

I threw my plastic hammer at the guy's head and he beat a hasty retreat!

[Roo_85]

cheers, this thread will be put to good use. the peg idea is brilliant.