Who is walking past my house at 3am?

[dottydally]

So having exhausted all of our own theories, I wonder if MN has any good ideas.

About 6 weeks ago I bought a Ring doorbell. I'm expecting a baby in a few weeks and I'm already excited about knowing whether it's worth getting up to answer the door.

The strange bit, though, is that since having the doorbell I've noticed that someone keeps walking past my house at 3:25am. I live at the end of a cul-de-sac so it's not a through road. Theres a green out of the front of my house which separates the path running along the front of me/my neighbours and the roadway. The mystery walker is always wearing a high-vis jacket and only usually walks one way (into the dead end). It is always bang on 3:25am.

I am the last house on my row and I've already spoken to the house in the very end of the cul-de-sac and it's not them.

I wondered about the milkman but I know he comes about 5:15 as he often meets my other half.

It's not every day, but averages 3 times per week. Not always the same day.

The most recent time the camera caught them was 3:15am yesterday morning. They were 10 minutes early and this time walked both ways past my house, with a torch shining on the floor as they walked back. There is approx 20 seconds between them walking past the first and second time.

So, wise MN, any good ideas? Or am I going to have to camp out at my window from 3am tomorrow in the hope of seeing them?!

You have lovely handwriting OP! No idea on your question though!

I'm going with burglar scoping out. Because I always assume the worst. I thought it was common knowledge that burglars often hide behind a hi vi's jacket, silly as it sounds. 3 times a week is a bit odd though.
Reasonable answer is the end garden is a cut through

Why do you care?

Just seen the diagram. He parks his car there obviously. The torch was because he dropped his keys on the way

So he's walking from right to left? Could he walk round the grass and back out the other way? Might be walking a dog?

What is the range of your doorbell? Perhaps he has a car parked at the end of the road, and when he doubled back he had dropped his key.

Talk to your community police, you know the ones, I've forgotten the proper name. If he isn't going to a local house, there's something dodgy going on, even if it's only trespassing to make a shortcut.

Can you see whether he's got a dog with him?

I think @Thegracefuloctopus has got it

What do the fences back onto?

We used to live on a cul de sac with a fence at the end, and we frequently used to see teenagers / young men coming down the cul de sac, then climbing over the fence.

The other side of the fence was the dead end of another cul de sac which was nearer the main road, someone heading to the main road who went over the fence would save themselves a 5 minute walk.

I reckon it's a dog walker.

On first glance at your lovingly presented diagram I would say he's walking to where he's parked.

I also wondered about the fencing and whats behind it.

How long have you lived there and do you know all the residents/cars?

What's behind the fence where all the cars are parked?

They could be going to check whether car doors are unlocked?

Do you ever hear a car right after? It could be someone in one of the houses to your right who is a shift worker walking to their car.

The fact that there's regular timing suggests to me that it's not nefarious- I reckon if a burglar did a regular scoping round they'd vary the times.

Are there any bushes? Could be a drug drop kind of thing!

I can't see a dog with them. The parking spaces are for me, * neighbour and the houses opposite (so none of the houses to my right).

Are you near an evangelical church? Middle of the night prayer walk of the neighbourhood?

are you sure he/she is not carrying a baby to get it to sleep

Checking on his car before he goes to work?

Some people get picked up in a works van/by a colleague but wouldn't want to leave their vehicle unchecked for any length of time.

I'd give community policing an email via local police website

We have that sometimes , it was Thames water checking things (I don’t know what exactly , it’s the small square holes covered with metal lids) at the front of each house. They shone a torch on the ground too - though they usually seemed to be in pairs.

You can’t email the police with concerns that a man is walking along a public pavement! He hasn’t actually been seen doing anything suspicious and between us we’ve come up with about four possible innocent explanations.

What OP needs to do is dress up as a shrub and stage a stake out. That’s the sensible course of action.

As PP above said, Thames Water have been spotted in the middle of,the night in our cul de sac scoping out leaks... that's my best guess for your high vis man OP

My guess would be the parking, or jumping over the fence as a cut through.
I'd be definitely camping out, binoculars snacks and a torch!

The cars back on to garages so there's no access to anything that way. We've been here a few years, long enough to know my neighbours by their cars (which is bad really as I don't know half their names!).

The fence by my house has a gate to my back garden and also runs along *neighbours garden (but their gate is near their car). My gate is locked though and at this time of year has my wheely bins in front of it.

Think I might be camping out by my window at 3am to find out. Not sure I'm committed enough to dress up like a shrub though @TottieandMarchpane!

I'm assuming once the baby arrives I'll often be awake at 3am so maybe I could make a friend joking.

I was going to ask what’s behind the fence too. You’re not near any railway lines or an electricity substation are you? They do check things like that at all manner of strange hours, like the waterworks.

A neighbourhood watch thing maybe ?