# Wildcamping Scare ....



## Anonymous

We were wildcamping at Aldeburgh on the Suffolk coast this weekend with the company of another 8 or 9 motorhomes. On Friday night/Sat morning 3 am we were awakened by loud banging on the side of the van. Needless to say we got a real shock and couldn't get back to sleep.
We have stayed here many times with no trouble but this episode left us both shaking and quite frightened. We decided to leave as soon as possible. 
We found a CL quite close and decided that it was worth a fiver a night for the security. On checking the van for damage I found the large side window cracked and will now need renewing. 
Im sorry to say but from now on we won't wild camp.. which is sad but it's just not worth the risk. Some might say it's only louts out for a laugh but in this day and age you don't know what might happen next time.... it just aint worth it.  

Jim


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## peejay

Jim,

Very sorry to hear about this, but glad to hear you're ok albeit a bit shaken. You did the right thing. Did any of the other vans have the same problem?

pete.


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## Anonymous

Hi Pete

thanks for your sympathy, yes the others were all similarly awakened, several others left at 3 am ! 
I find it a bit sinister, this wasn't a passing prank, it was 3 am, the road is a sea defense wall with no through road. It was a deliberate attack by someone to scare away motorhomes. My own thoughts were it might be organised by the local caravan site who have complained to the coucil about wildcampers..but this is pure conjecture. 

Jim


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## nukeadmin

dont blame you for shifting, but i reckon you might be right that the local campsite getting annoyed at wild campers


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## 90460

yeah i recently stopped in a hedge covered lay by just south of skegness all was well until i closed curtains and a couple of cars pulled in and a few seconds later hammering and shouting outside van (a big dent on side fist shaped) i was very frightened but calmed down and put it down to a prank about 45 mins later 10.30 same again only about four cars this time seems to me it is the local louts evening past time i too moved on and it has put me off wilding

tonz


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## Anonymous

Hi Tonz

welcome to the site ..sorry to hear about your experience and damage to your van.
It's a real shame that the pleasure of many is spoiled by the few. If this were a prank by a passing drunk on the way home I would have shrugged it off, it wasn't and that's the scary part. In your case they came back for a second go.. "They" are targetting motorhomes for whatever reason.
It calls into question the whole pratice of wildcamping. Newbies and old hands alike need to be aware of this risk and if it's worth it. Perhaps this should be highlighted in the wildcamping section of this site. 

Jim


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## musicbus

Jim,

Its hard not to overreact in these situations. I know I have a had more that few sleepless nights wildcamping. The surprising part of your experience is that you were in the company of a number of other 'homers which does suggest a little more than just a random piece of stupidity.

All we can do is keep each other informed of problem areas and avoid them.

We cannot give up our freedom

stay wild!!

barry


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## 89425

I have to agree with Barry's point of view, however you do have my deepest sympathy, not only the shock/harassment factor but the horrendous cost of having to make good the damage. From my own recent visits to body repair shops, any slight panel damage is almost a grand to make good!

We too had an experience similar to yours when we first started out many years ago, but because of that 'experience' we now go to great lengths to pick our spots very carefully. The general look of the place has a lot to do with it, but we do try to park well away from the road so its not easy for anyone to drive up and bang the side and race off. We certainly don't use parking near habitation or regularly used roads, and try not to have the van visible from the road, not easy when its big and white, but we hope to change that when it goes in for repair (olive drab seems a nice colour all of a sudden - mat cow poo green for those who don't know  )
____________________________________________________
*Steve 
aka A very wild....wild camper*
.
Click here for my van website!
.









_I do like a bit of feed back to my posts please_
____________________________________________________


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## Anonymous

musicbus said:


> All we can do is keep each other informed of problem areas and avoid them.
> 
> We cannot give up our freedom
> 
> stay wild!!
> 
> barry


I agree wholeheartedly with you Barry, thanks for your support. 
Steve, you have given sound advice which should be heeded by all. Dunno if I fancy cow pat green though...lol

I've amended my wildcamping spot entry for Aldeburgh to alert anyone else to this potential trouble.

All the best and thanks

Jim and Janet


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## 89411

Having just spent our first weekend away - primarily wild camping - I am loath to give it up yet :? 

I can understand your concern though 8O 

sooner we get a network of stopovers the better :!: :!:


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## Anonymous

arthur1 said:


> sooner we get a network of stopovers the better :!: :!:


Couldn't agree more.

I read your other post about the awful site  Have you thought of joining the Caravan Club ? We have used the CLs for many years and although the prices have gone up recently most CLs offer really good value for money. Many have hook-ups and toilets and have no objections to tents. Prices range from about £5 - £8 per night 
The CC main sites are pristine and are normally quiet and well run.

Jim


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## 89411

have done but even the cls were full!!!!!


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## 88735

i just came back from swanage at the weekend and as you come to the ferry to cross over to poole the main road was full of caravans and m/h wild camping we pulled up but i decided there was to many people wandering around to wild camp,i suppose you can say i bottled it.


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## Jeffus

*Join*



arthur1 said:


> sooner we get a network of stopovers the better :!: :!:


Arthur if you haven't already done so, please join the Stopover campaign. Register your vote only takes an email. See here http://www.motorhomefacts.com/postt1178.html Jeffus. 8)


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## Anonymous

*wild camp*

hi we know how you feel, we were on the isle of anglesea once in a layby on our own,
at about 3.30am their was a car in front of us flashing his light's witch i ignored, my wife was still asleep at this time.
anyway a little latter their was a knock on the door(rear)well i'm six foot four so without opening the door i made myself as big as possibleand opened the curtain wide leaving the light off.
i said what do you want ,or word's to that effect, and he said (your not allowed to sleep here)no it was'nt the police,i asked why and he said their's a notice on the layby,not true it was behind the layby wall and related to the field it was in.
on that he dissapeared as we did so tojust incase he came back with his mate's.who on earth go's around at that time of night knocking on door's other than the police?
about three week's latter their was a report in the new's paper's about some poor woman on the island who was murdered and had her heart removed.
now i dont want to frighten anyone but it make's you think .
we still wild camp by the way as this is the worst incedent in about 25 years.
pete


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## peejay

Well, i have been toying with the idea of wildcamping for a while now and i have to say that this has put me off, far better, for the sake of a few quid to use a CL or CS.

What on earth possesses people to go around at stupid o'clock in the morning and bang on the sides of vans? Probably a sad reflection of the society we now live in.

pete.


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## Anonymous

*wild camping*

maybe it's a little jealosy
we were camped up on burnham on sea, sea front once along with about 20 others and a chap in his late 50s early 60s drove past at 8am blowing his horn just as i opened the curtain's (you would of thought he would of known better.
no motorcaravan's can park on the sea front their now unless they are under 4.8 meters long,they have provided a few parking bay's for us although they are normal width so you are forced to leave a gap, not that it matter's much as if you get their after 11am they are full of car's anyway despite motorcaravans only been painte a foot high
pete


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## Motorhomersimpson

Hi scotjimlad,

Sorry to hear of your recent trouble, hope you’re all getting over this.

Hope your repairs go well, all the best.

Rob (Homer)


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## 91123

Hi there,

I am new to this forum and a complete motorhome virgin - we take delivery of our new home the first week in September (when I finally decide whether to go for a Kontiki 645 or 635!) However, I am saddened to hear such horror stories regarding wild camping and I just cannot believe the mentality of some people! What on earth can they possibly get out of scaring people and doing such deliberate damage to people's vehicles? I am quite sure they would be devestated if someone vandalised their cars or vehicles like they do to others - those type usually take such behaviour far worse when it is dished out upon them! They really make me sick and it truly angers me. We had our brand new rover keyed a week after we bought it and it was our very first ever brand new car and we were gutted! Cost a fortune to put right too! We have worked hard all our lives and like so many other couples do - we struggled and strived to make ends meet in our early days and have worked darned hard to get where we are today and it really, really annoys me to think that some hooligan can just come along and deliberately vandalise something that someone has worked hard to pay for. Have they no morals? I don't think so? 

I do hope these ignorant yobs have not spoiled your enjoyment of motorhoming too much scotjimland, Tonz and anyone else who has suffered similiar experiences and it's a pity we cannot come up with something that would scare the living daylights out of them in return - how about an electric fence around our motorhomes lol? Seriously though, I hope you all carry on enjoying your trips and refuse to let these yobbos scare you away.

Sonesta


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## Anonymous

Hi Sonesta

Thanks for your post and welcome to the site and the wonderful world of motorhoming. 
I agree with everything you say and believe me I wanted to get my revenge but is it worth the risk? Yobs carry all sorts of weapons including guns, it just aint worth it. 

We are not the only country to suffer from this behaviour. I was reading an American RV forum where the guys were discussing the pros and cons of handguns versus shotguns as defence, the conclusion being that the sound of a 12 gauge pump action being "racked" in the dark scared the living **** out of anyone. 
One guy had shot an intruder, handcuffed him then drove him to the nearest sheriffs office. Tough justice but when the police here seem powerless or unwilling to tackle these louts it makes you stop and think.

Good luck when you get the new van, I know you will love it just as we do and no one or nothing will ever change that but we won't wild camp again, with two children to consider it's not worth it.


Jim and Janet


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## 91123

Hi Jim and Janet,

Thanks for the welcome. Yes you are quite right - with 2 children to condsider it really isn't worth the risk - but God how annoying it is that we have to put up with such behaviour! All I can say is the culprits must have been dragged up! At the end of the day though Jim it is far better to be safe than sorry. So I agree - for peace of mind and enjoyment of your holidays and getaways it is probably best to stick to official camp sites etc. What a shame that such thugs can ruin and spoil people's lives like this! May they suffer the consequences is all we can wish for.

I would hate to see the UK end up like America with thugs and villains running around with guns - but I can well imagine how you must have felt like shooting the morons! I know I would have felt like that too.

Can't wait to get our new van - only 10 weeks to go whoooopeee!

Sonesta


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## Boff

Some words from me to this topic:

I do not believe that this scum (maybe with some very few exceptions) explicitly targets motorhomes. "They" target everything they can destroy or damage easily and can get away without being caught for it. Public phones, cars, and also motorhomes.

We have had several nightly experiences in our motorhome:

One was an attempted burglary. _Attempted_ only because they were a little bit too noisy when cracking the cab door's lock and woke me up. When I came down from the luton with my really big MAG-Lite they ran away and were picked up by an accomplice with a car (with a stolen numberplate, as I found out at the police next morning).

The other was more of the funny sort: We were just before going to bed when suddenly our van started rocking 8O . I went out (of course with the big MAGgie) and found a lovers couple hiding in the shadow of our van. He had pressed her firmly against the van's wall and was obviously very busy...
You can call that an "interruptus..." :lol:

Numerous other experiences were shouting contests or mating rituals involving powerful car stereos and tuned motor bikes performed by local yobs. Not really dangerous, but still unpleasant.

But one thing all these events unfortunately had in common was that they happened on official stopover sites. 

So neither stopover sites nor safety by number is really effective here.

Nevertheless we still go wild camping.

Best Regards,
Gerhard


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## Raine

*scare*

hi, it did sound a bit more than yobs,
how about getting a really wild alarm mine reallymakes me jump when i forget to switch it off. and a long slim torch, good for looking under the bonnet at night and catching someone round the ear with, oops did i say that, sorry,  but keep on trucking raine


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## Boff

*Re: scare*



RAINE said:


> hi, it did sound a bit more than yobs


Of course the burglars were more than just yobs. I even think they were a professional gang:
- They cracked the cab door lock without damaging it and with only very faint noise, so they really knew their job.
- They used a car with a stolen number plate (which by the way was registered as stolen for almost 30 years).

But the rest of the incidents really were just yobs. Of course what I did not yet have (and hopefully never will) was an act of sheer vandalism as described in the original post.



RAINE said:


> how about getting a really wild alarm mine reallymakes me jump when i forget to switch it off.


After this incident I have applied _mechanical_ security measures to the cab doors and the main door. They cannot be cracked without making really a lot of noise, and this fact is clearly visible from outside.



RAINE said:


> and a long slim torch, good for looking under the bonnet at night and catching someone round the ear with, oops did i say that, sorry,


That is exactly what I mean with my MAGgie. :twisted:

Best Regards,
Gerhard


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## 89411

I think the problem is that this sort of thing can happen anywhere and when you are in it or not - it' just bad luck if you are!

I would not class the area we live as being particularly dangerous or having a problem but we have had a burgulary, at least on attempted burglary, things stolen from the garden, one car stolen and several incidents of vandalism (ie broken wing mirrors) we now park our arthur on the road, as we don't have a drive

thie thing is you could have parked the van and gone for a walk when the attack happened would this stop you parking it !!

there is always someone wanting to spiol other peoples fun - they're jealous!!!! 

I can sympathise though - i used to wake up and check the house and still get a horrid feeling if i can't see the car when i return ( like in a car park and your looking in the rwrong line!!)


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## Anonymous

arthur1 said:


> I think the problem is that this sort of thing can happen anywhere and when you are in it or not - it' just bad luck if you are!
> 
> thie thing is you could have parked the van and gone for a walk when the attack happened would this stop you parking it !!


 Some facts about this scare:

This wasn't done by local yobs. Aldeburgh is populated by mostly retired people. Its has no nightlife, the chippy closes at 9pm, people play dominoes in the pub. It's sleepsville with a capital "S"
The nearest town of any size is Ipswich, about 30mls away. 
The beach road where this took place is a "no through road. " We were parked beside 6 or 7 other vans at the far end. Out of sight and a mile away from the nearest cottage. 
It happened at 3 am, not by chance, but at a time when "they" knew families are in bed. It is done to scare you, damage to the van isn't really the purpose, if it was "they" could have done much worse, tyres slashed, windscreen broken etc. 
This sort of attack isn't by chance or just for a laugh. They drove to this site with a purpose, to intimidate and scare folks away, for me that's the scary part because it worked and if you think a Maglite will scare THEM away think again.


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## 89411

I'm not denying your particular incident was a deliberate attack but the fact still remains that if we allow ourselves to be scared by everything we could be scared of we'd do nothing!!!!

this a personal opinion but I do know how much it can effect you personally when this sort of thing happens - like I said we have been burgaled and had a car stolen - both effected me and it took me ages to relax again

I for one will not be stopping wildcamping


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## Boff

scotjimland said:


> This wasn't done by local yobs. Aldeburgh is populated by mostly retired people...


When talking about yobs it was never my intention to embellish anything. I do believe that "wilful damage to property" is also in UK an offence.

So, regardless whether "they" are aiming deliberately at motorhomes or not, "they" have committed an offence. So we are dealing here with a marauding gang of criminals.

*That is scary! *

I just wanted to point out that an official stopover place does not provide any protection from such gangs. Probably not even an official camp site.

Nevertheless I will continue wild camping.

Best Regards,
Gerhard


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## 91958

I've had 4 similar occurrences - 3 times at the same place! That was at a stopover listed on the Stopovers UK website in Wiltshire, a layby on the A4 just past the roundabout at Beckhampton on the road to Calne.

Three times I've tried staying there and each time 2-4 car loads turned up screaming and shouting, shining their headlights full on my van, and making me quite nervous. Luckily my dogs make a lot of noise which scares people off. The second two times I left and parked elsewhere, and I'll not be staying there again.

The other time was in South Wales, me and one other van in a small Forestry Commission carpark by Pembray Forest. A few cars came along for half an hour or so and left, but later a couple of cars came along, circling the carpark a few times shouting out that it's 'time to wake up, we want to play' - very scary, but again, the dogs came to the rescue. They're big dogs and have deep barks and I don't think anyone would risk me opening the door and letting them out!


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## 88967

*Scary.. Stop-overs*

Hi you all, 
Sorry to hear of the problem. Not travelling down that route.

If it is the Camp site owners then they obviously have not thought it through. Places like here on net and also word of mouth means that others will not venture in, or even near, the Area.

Loss of revenue.

Hope all goes well from now. Thanks for the info.

Regards Graham & Judith


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## spykal

Hi all

Having only ever wild camped when I had a tiny touring caravan 35 years ago I am not really qualified to join in but the experiences described do tend to make me think "should I give wild camping a try" ...maybe not ...think I'll stick to CLs. BUT I still fancy having a go and that's where I come to the point of my post. Surely when wild camping one should choose a place that looks relativly safe but also where it will not upset anyone (local residents, farmer etc). So how come it is considered OK to post up on the internet places to wild camp, do not underestimate the power of the web, this will lead to many of us trying out these spots and that will I guess upset someone local to these spots...unless they really are "wild" ( the spots that is!) I am a motorhomer first and foremost but I can almost understand someone getting angry enough to bash the side of a motorhome if every morning when he gets up all he can see is a sea of motorhomes instead of the sea. I am not saying I would condone this action (obviously) but there are some strange people out there (and they are not all motorhomers :wink: )
Maybe if you find a really good wild spot you should keep it to yourself or only share it with a few friends. I know this sounds selfish, but it may be the way to go.
The only other suggestion I have and I am sure many already do it, is if you are stuck for a place to overnight, find a quiet pub that does grub with a good sized, out of sight car park...go in and pleasantly ask the landlord if it would be ok to park while you eat and drink in his pub, to this he will undoubtably say "Yes" then throw in " and if we have too much to drink to drive is it OK to sleep over?" 90% of the time if you have picked a decent pub and landlord the answer will be "Yes" again........give it a go it works.

Mike

Ex Landlord :lol:


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## dodger148

There was a couple on Granada TV News yesterday Wed 11/8 that had been gasssed on a service area in France, thought it was mainly Spain where this happened !!
:!:


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## autostratus

A poster to another forum reported to have been robbed overnight in a gas attack on an Autoroute aire near St Quentin, northern France recently.

I did ask the question as to how he knew they had been gassed.
His reply was that the police had told them this was happening and that 2 of his party suffered from bad throats the following day.

I'm not sure about the gas (although we do have a gas sensor installed!).
But the real moral of the story is as advocated many times on these boards.
DO NOT OVERNIGHT ON AUTOROUTE AIRES.

I make no apologies for my upper case warning.
Many robberies have been reported the length of France not just Spain.


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## 89905

hello all
we have owned our motorhome for a year in that time we have used it most every weekends on sites and wild camping in the UK.
on our first trip cannock chase was the venue a nice little car park well out the way at about one oclock a couple of cars parked up loads of horn blowing and slamming of doors , same again latter in the night lights flashed at us horns the lot.
when my wife went to work on the monday morning she was informed that it was the local doggin spot and now is looked at in a whole differet light by the girls.
this might of put both of use off wild camping but no we have done it since with no problems.
on the plus side we wild camped at stokes bay in gosport on opening the windows at 0600 a empty car park with ark royal out to sea about to deploy on oparations wow what a sight.
we normaly have our dogs two labs nessie and benny on bourd rubbish gaurd dogs but thay make a lot of noise.
as thay will not be travaling to gibraltar in october a van bits alarm and gas detector is to be fitted not to secure the van so much as keep me and sylvia safe.
remember wild camping gives a true feeling of freedom .( with a bit of planning and luck)
all the best 
twodogs


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## 89139

Hi

We are really sorry to hear all off all the problems you good people have suffered wild camping  . We haven't ventured into this realm yet, but did stop overnight at the Rowhan services on the A27 Southampton area last Friday. We park out the way at the back, we were soon jioned by many other caravaners and MH's. We are really surprised about what happened, firstly I would like to make it clear that we were all right away from the lorry area. about 11.00pm a lorry (although he had plenty of space) parked about 40' away and ran his engine for at least 45 mins. In the morning at approx 6.00am we were woken by a teriffic niose of reving engins and banging, it was a massive car transporter parked right in the middle of us, changing cars over, he was carrying RAC driving instructors cars (I won't recommend them to any one) rotest: . He had at least a third of the parking area to use but no he just had to park with the rest uf us. Well he achieved his aim every one just packed up and left. Are we only aloud to stop at these places over night if we are goods vehicles :?: :?: 

I really don't understand why people have a major problem with people who are harmlessly enjoying themselves, we cant win, and when you try and tell these peole that we all actually help the local economy were we are staying and travelling they just say yeh! but you hold the rest of us up doing it.

Still I say *** em lets all still keep doing what we love, (there are also a lot of people who will openly admit they wish they could do but have reasons they can't) :tongue3: 

Carry on living on the wild side chaps and we will be jioning you ccasion5: 


Regards Rolley

PS has any one else had a problem with lorry drivers :?:


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## 91568

I spend most of my forum-ing time at Club80-90, an owner's club for the VW t25. A friend there had been subjected to thefts from his van on 2 consecutive nights in France and had designed some excellent security devices. He and I worked hard to design a web page based on his designs, but once it was published (on a Members Only forum) we found that there was really very little interest and hardly any feedback. The same happened on the gas-attack topic, mostly thoroughly scathing "it hasn't happened, they've dreamt it" type feedback.

Why?

Because we're not all that bothered, if at all, until it happens to us. And statistics would certainly indicate that most of us are safe most of the time.

By the way, some of the gas-using thieves in France are definitely Brits. Makes ya proud, eh?

Our van, a hightop, is big by campervan standards, but much smaller than most of yours and therefore much less well-equipped, so with a very feminine wife-person on board we always stay on real campsites. There's no way Jo would wild-camp anywhere - she'd just be too scared, (like a girl :lol: ).

Opinions:

If you feel inclined to try and hide your van away from baddies, don't forget that the better you hide, the less chance there is of the good guys coming to help you.

One thing's for certain, if wild-camping makes you anxious, you should bloody well stop doing it, regardless of taking a stance 'n' all that.

After all, we're supposed to be enjoying ourselves, aren't we.


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## peejay

Nuoomo wrote;



> If you feel inclined to try and hide your van away from baddies, don't forget that the better you hide, the less chance there is of the good guys coming to help you.
> 
> One thing's for certain, if wild-camping makes you anxious, you should bloody well stop doing it, regardless of taking a stance 'n' all that.
> 
> After all, we're supposed to be enjoying ourselves, aren't we.


Certainly good advice sir and i would agree with that.

Ref your comments on gassing in motorhomes, there was a post a while back regarding the amount of gas required to carry out such an attack at....

http://www.motorhomefacts.com/posts1208-0.html

this puts doubt on the feasibility of these reports (read Boffs entries). I still have an open mind on the subject, any ideas?

pete.


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## 91958

I won't let my few bad experiences stop me wild-camping, I really don't want to have to book into sites every night.

But I am more careful where I park now, and always park in such a way that I can just drive out if i need to.
On the 3 occasions on the A4 near Avebury that I mentioned above it was very dark where I was parked, and to drive away I would have had to reverse into a gateway where the yobs cars were parked, so I was stuck where I was till they'd gone.

If I'd been facing the other way I could've have just driven off.

Just a matter of common sense really.

But I certainly wouldn't be happy parking in some of the places I do if I didn't have the dogs with me.


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## 91568

Which reminds me, you can buy, somewhere because I've heard one and it scared the cr*p out of me, an alarm which is very loud and sounds like a very angry, very large dog barking.

And Peejay, 

As for the quantity needed, I'm not of a scientific frame of mind, and there may be no need to stoke up the fires without which there might be no smoke, but perhaps I should get an even bigger van in order to further dilute the effects of any gases!


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## 91958

Sounds like a good idea Noomo - you don't have to take an alarm out for a walk when it's cold and raining!


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## Anonymous

hi, was talking to a fellow motorhomer yesterday on this subject and she said that a freind of theres was robbed in spain but it turned out that they were sleeping with their windows wide open and that the little scroat was fisshing her handbag from off the bed,(need i say more)
pete


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## Anonymous

dodger148 said:


> There was a couple on Granada TV News yesterday Wed 11/8 that had been gasssed on a service area in France, thought it was mainly Spain where this happened !!
> :!:


This is an article in the local paper about the incident http://iccheshireonline.icnetwork.c...&headline=gassed-as-they-slept-name_page.html I saw the report on Granada news as well. Up to now I have tended to think that a lot of these things are a bit of an urban myth especially being a dedicated wild camper, but the couple were shaken up & pictures of their five year old with marks around his mouth certainly makes you think carefully where you do park for the night.


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## 91958

That's really frightening - I'd never heard of these gas attacks before I found this forum!

Does anyone know if the gas is always administered with masks, or do they just pump gas into the van? 

Any slight noise while we're asleep in the van sets my dogs barking so hopefully I should be safe, but it's still worrying.


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## peejay

Kontiki,

Thats certainly a disturbing story and is another slant on the gassing theory. The curious thing is the thieves broke in first and then supposedly gassed them, you would have thought that one of the family would have woken up. 
However the important part of this story is that they parked overnight on an autoroute aire and in my book that is a definate no-no. Nearly all the break-ins/robberies i've heard of occur on autoroute aires so should be avoided at all costs. I might add that this is only my personal opinion and i know a lot of people still use them. My advice to them, DONT, seek out an aire close by or book into a site.

pete.


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## Anonymous

In the article it says they administered the gas possibly through an open widow, on the TV news item it showed the van & it was possible to reach through the window & reach somebody sleeping. Keeping blinds drawn & windows secured would at least make this difficult.
When they interviewed the couple they said that when they woke feeling ill the next day they didn't know what had happened for certain & this was all they could assume. They did have pictures of their 5 year old showing marks around his mouth that could be some sort of mask. 
This is the only account that I have seen the people involved talk about it & previously been reluctant to believe it possible. I don't see that the couple had anything to gain as they cut their holiday short, if they were claiming on insurance for anything then it would be simpler to say the van was broken into.


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## 89139

Hope you guys don't mind me jumping in on this one. I have been following your inputs trying to understand sorry if that seems a bit thick but we are new to the game. This gassing is this something that is happening abroad only or are there cases over here and is it just down to theft or has anyone been assulted.

Sorry serious question I find it quite disturbing and worrying.

Rolley


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## Raine

hi, rolley, we weren't sure about the reports of gassing, not sure if it was the same letters doing the rounds ect., but while we were having our Van Bitz alarm fitted, we decided to get a gas alarm fitted as well, then met an older couple who were just having one fitted to their new van.cos they HAD been gassed in Spain, just starting out on their holiday, the wife nearly died, cos she has asthma, and it really shook them, stole quite a bit, but not the money cos they had that (hidden), so ..........we were glad we did get one fitted, cos you'd get woken up so you could defend yourself with the minimum force (see previous thread on defense Ha!) and protect your stuff. Hope this helps, but don't let it put you off, i don't think its that widespread, just be alert!


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## Anonymous

I did a search & found this site with some more reports, http://www.nereusalarms.co.uk/html/news___reviews.html
In some of the articles it does mention some attacks on lorries in the midlands. I don't think it is something we should get paranoid about but we should always be careful. For anybody really worried by this they can fit alarms to detect the gas just search in google for narcotic gas alarm.


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## Anonymous

Shame these buggers don't do laughing gas. At least we would be robbed and feel good about it.


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## spykal

Hi Pusser

The only time I have come across Laughing Gas was at the dentist years ago when he gave some to me before he removed a Wisdom Tooth.......I was not laughing :lol: 

Mike


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## Anonymous

He must have given you too much cos you only need a little bit. On the plus side of course, it did prevent the agony of having a tooth drawn out even though you would have been laughing whilst in acute pain. I've had wisdom tooth out and I am convinced that the roots are attached to your testicles


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## 89084

*Wild Camping*

It is strange that people that attack MH in the night would not go on to a gypsy site and do the same! No they are not brave enough. May be to wild camp we need a lurcher, a flat back truck and a sign for tree felling and then it will be safe!

Luigi


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## Anonymous

*hi*

:lol: hi, i had laughing gas after a accident on a motorbike, while they put my leg in a back slab to keep my foot pointing in the right direction,i have'nt laughed as much as that for years but the effect wears off remarkably quickly and i have had 15 months to get over it  
pete


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## eurajohn

Hi All

I and many others have expressed our opinions ref this myth, story, fairy tale!

If you look at the recent posts there is another thread called "gas attacks" in the "general chitchat" forum, where there are some scientific "facts" reference this subject.

Save your money and buy a useful security accessory!

Just my opinion, but in 15 years of wild camping in the South of France, we've never met anyone of any nationality that has actually experienced such an attack. 

We have however been broken into once, whilst in a hypermarket car park, middle of the day and very crowded, we have also met many others that have been broken into whilst the vehicle was un attended.


John.


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## Texas

*Wild camping*

Unfortunately the 'yob element' recognises no borders, in Royan (France) recently we were kipping in the huge car park when at 3'oclock in the morning I was awakened by some idiot banging on the side of the van. Having been burgled a few years previously I felt we were safe with our 'anti burglary/intruder' devices, we simply turned over and went back to sleep ( the yob apparently having moved on)

Texas


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## Anonymous

Jesus ... having your heart removed because you're wild camping appears a tad drastic. I have to say I'm bothered about wild camping. I appreciate that most time you should be OK but its the one time I bother about and I am worring about the one time during the uneventful times. Luckily, my missus refuses to wild camp which saves me looking like a wimp because we were once encircled by screaming motorbikes in a town in France. Reminded me of the Hanging Tree and Kluless Klux Clan.


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## Texas

*Wild camping*

Even if the scum were to break our door windows, because of our *anti* *scum entry devices*, they would find it impossible to open any of the doors. In the meantime the alarm would be screaming it's head off, I would then attack them with the wifes' hair laqueur spray...it may not frighten them, but they could end up with a bad hair day! If all else fails, I'd hit them with the tin.

Texas


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## 92492

*Wild camping*

Hi

Can anybody confirm a few years ago when car-jacking was happening in South Africa? A new device was introduced, totally illegal in this country though, where a cloud of gas was released and ignited! Was I only dreaming this or did it really happen?

regards


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## spykal

Hi carter

You were right I remembered seeing that too, I looked on CNN and they still have the story:

http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/africa/9812/11/flame.thrower.car/

A bit drastic but no doubt would frigten off the yobs

Mike


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## nofixedabode

Having read the evidence it seems unlikely that this type of robbery exists, Have any robbers been caught in the act by a gas alarm going off, and has any evidence been found i.e. gas tanks, has any one been arrested in possession of such equipment? I’ve not heard of any such incident 
NFA


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## 92665

Averywildwildcamper said:


> I have to agree with Barry's point of view, however you do have my deepest sympathy, not only the shock/harassment factor but the horrendous cost of having to make good the damage. From my own recent visits to body repair shops, any slight panel damage is almost a grand to make good!
> 
> We too had an experience similar to yours when we first started out many years ago, but because of that 'experience' we now go to great lengths to pick our spots very carefully. The general look of the place has a lot to do with it, but we do try to park well away from the road so its not easy for anyone to drive up and bang the side and race off. We certainly don't use parking near habitation or regularly used roads, and try not to have the van visible from the road, not easy when its big and white, but we hope to change that when it goes in for repair (olive drab seems a nice colour all of a sudden - mat cow poo green for those who don't know  )
> ____________________________________________________
> *Steve
> aka A very wild....wild camper*
> .
> Click here for my van website!
> .
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _I do like a bit of feed back to my posts please_
> ____________________________________________________


We bought a camouflage net from eBay - big enough to cover the whole van!

Actually we really got it to go on top of the gazebo for some extra shade - we copied a friend of ours - it helps to keep it from blowing away too!


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## 93295

Nothing ever really changes, I've been camping since I was a very small child...........and that was a long time ago.

I have camped on sites official and unofficial, and most of all I have wild camped. 

It is only in recent years that I have gone the motorhome route....getting too old for canvas now.

My earliest camping experiances would have been in the 1950,s.......and yes, there were yobs about then who would think it funny to try and scare people in the middle of the night.

I think these incidents are quite rare, and these days are no worse than they were back then. In almost all cases it is just a local yob or two staggering back from the pub.


I have spent a great deal of time in France over the last thirty odd years, and have had no more trouble there than here. I wild camp 90% of the time, and as others have said, it's all about using a bit of common sense about where you park........and having a secure vehicle.

My current van has bolts on all the doors, they are fitted so that even if you broke the windows you would not be able to reach them from outside of the van.

I also think, that the gas scare story that has been circulating for the last couple of years.......has very dubious parentage.......

Ether.......(the alleged narcotic gas) is highly flammable, and pumping it into a camper van is likely to create a large explosion (fridge burner) long before it could knock you out.


The whole point of camping, for me anyway, is to get away from the crowds......to find some remote spot..... far from the madding crowd......and all the yobs/thugs/crooks in the world, couldn't keep me from that.



JD.


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## Anonymous

*hi*

(A bit drastic but no doubt would frighten off the yobs )
no officer, it's a barbeque not a flame thrower.
pete :roll:


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