Stolen tangerine

[Ed Hammond]

And £8 in loose change, and a digital camera, because I've been broken in to! Or my flat has.

Strangely enough the computer didn't get nicked, nor did any of my CDs, TV, video player, hifi, etc etc. They did do my front door in with a crowbar though, so it isn't looking too pretty and will need replacing if I'm ever to leave the flat again.

Has anyone else been burgled? I think I nearly caught them at it, as the smell of cigarettes was still lingering in the air - if you did chance upon one of these bastards, would you stove his head in with a golf club, or just let him get on with it?

[Gavin Scott]

Well if I understand the briefing by the Govenrnment today, you *could* stove their heads in if you thought you were in some iminent danger.

I'm just not a violent man by nature and frankly can't even make a fist properly. (I've been told that the way I do it would break my thumb).

However, I am quite a big bloke and am led to understand I can appear quite intimidating. I'd probably growl and hope they ran away.

[rts]

This is an amazing coincidence. My place was broken into just a few days ago, but the only things taken were some DVDs, an iPod, old mobile phone and muffin in my fridge. Again, laptop, hi-fi etc left behind.

I was told that apparently burgling makes one hungry, so it's not uncommon for food to go missing.

But being robbed is a horrible thing to happen, and I hope all works out well for you with the insurance etc.

[Ed Hammond]

Cheers Row. The bugger is that the digital camera cost about £200, which is about the amount of the excess on my contents insurance, which makes making a claim somewhat pointless. Oh well. Household insurance will pay for the door though.

I'm with Mark on the "beating them to death" debate. Like a complete moron I bumbled in through the (open) door on getting home, not even considering that nefarious types might still have been inside. They were just kids (bicycle tracks on the lawn outside, along with a stream of 1p and 2p coins, bless) but had they thought that I might have come at them with impunity, willing death to rain upon them, they may have brought a weapon with them. Or an additional weapon along with the massive crowbar they used to prise the door open, of course.

I was quite surprised today when it was announced that, apparently, you can kill someone in your own home if you "instinctually" react to their presence, or some other lunacy. Doesn't bear any relation to any law I've ever heard of.

[Si-Co]

This is an amazing coincidence. My place was broken into just a few days ago, but the only things taken were some DVDs, an iPod, old mobile phone and muffin in my fridge. Again, laptop, hi-fi etc left behind.

I was told that apparently burgling makes one hungry, so it's not uncommon for food to go missing.

But being robbed is a horrible thing to happen, and I hope all works out well for you with the insurance etc.

When my friend was burgled recently they took (as well as expensive trainers and electrical equipment) half a packet of FROZEN CHIPS from her freezer! Never did get my head around that.

Seriously, I'm sorry to hear this has happened to you both. Hope all works out ok.

[Dr Lobster*]

i'm not a shallow or materialistic man, however i do believe any home owner reserves the right to kill any intruder.

videos, hi-fi's, laptops and the like can all be replaced, but what cannot be replaced is the security and safety one feels in their own home, and it is for this reason i believe that intruders should suffer extreme physical violence, possibly leading to death.

people who shoot and kill criminals do the country a great service. they save the tax payer thousands of pounds, and since nowadays the cps only seems to prosecute football fans who make monkey noises and pensioners who can't pay their council tax, i feel the general public have to do something to make are criminal justice system work for the greater good.

[Marcus]

i'm not a shallow or materialistic man, however i do believe any home owner reserves the right to kill any intruder.

videos, hi-fi's, laptops and the like can all be replaced, but what cannot be replaced is the security and safety one feels in their own home, and it is for this reason i believe that intruders should suffer extreme physical violence, possibly leading to death.

people who shoot and kill criminals do the country a great service. they save the tax payer thousands of pounds, and since nowadays the cps only seems to prosecute football fans who make monkey noises and pensioners who can't pay their council tax, i feel the general public have to do something to make are criminal justice system work for the greater good.

But you miss the point. By letting people take the law into their own hands your significantly raise the chances of the victims getting hurt or even killed.

[cwathen]

If we were legally entitled to shoot, bash, stab, mutilate, poke anyone who has broken into our house, it would simply mean that burglars would come prepared for such: they'd bring a gun; they'd bring a big knife. They'd shoot your before you could shoot them. They'd be expecting to be killed, so would take obvious precautions.

I'm afraid I'm very much of the viewpoint that once somewhat has broken into your house, they should loose all rights and you should be perfectly at liberty to do whatever the hell you like with them with them having no recourse to the law at all afterwards (if they are still alive).

I don't agree with your assertion that all burglars will come around armed. Series criminals will do that allready, changing the law won't make a blind bit of difference there. But the casual burglaries, carried out by burberry wearing chav scum who should be lined up and shot anyway, would seriously decline. They are unlikely to carry out opportunistic burglaries with serious arms, they just won't carry them out any more.

[cdd]

Isn't setting a trap the best way? However illegal it may be, a lovely doormat which hides a hole to a fall into a faraway cellar would make sure those burglars never came again.

Failing that an alarm system wired up to machettis.

That reminds me, whatever came of this?