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Original poster

A CF caught in the act

174 replies

Kinelll · 21/02/2023 17:04

I have a plant pot outside my front door and a couple of little garden ornaments sitting next to it, a zebra and a gnome. My children picked them and consider them to be theirs.

I spotted somebody loitering so opened the blinds and caught an elderly lady red handed putting the zebra in her bag.

To be honest I'm surprised they've lasted as long as they have around here but I didn't expect the culprit to be an elderly woman😂

OP posts:
PuppyMonkey · 21/02/2023 17:06

What did you say to her?

Smoothlines · 21/02/2023 17:08

What did she say?

Original poster
Kinelll · 21/02/2023 17:09

PuppyMonkey · 21/02/2023 17:06

What did you say to her?

I opened the door and asked for it back. I said if she liked it then she should go and buy one from £ stretchers down the road.

She tried to style it out by saying she thought it had been put out to take but there's no chance that anybody would think that, its part of a little display🤦🏼‍♀️

OP posts:
Ceryneianhind · 21/02/2023 17:09

so when you banged on the window - what did she do?

Ceryneianhind · 21/02/2023 17:09

x-post - Well done!

RosaBonheur · 21/02/2023 17:09

That's not a CF, that's a common or garden (literally) thief!

Original poster
Kinelll · 21/02/2023 17:10

Ceryneianhind · 21/02/2023 17:09

so when you banged on the window - what did she do?

I didn't bang on the window I went straight outside, my window is right next to my front door.

I asked for it back, she gave it back.

OP posts:
Fespital · 21/02/2023 17:11

Well done on calling her out!

PuppyMonkey · 21/02/2023 17:12

Stick a photo of her on your local Spotted page.Grin

Doesn't sound like your ornaments are going to last long out there TBF. Is it straight into the street from your front door?

Sellsellseller · 21/02/2023 17:12

Haha! It’s always the ones you wouldn’t expect, that’s how they get away with it……usually!

JizzlordTheCat · 21/02/2023 17:12

Do you know her or was she some passing randomer?

Original poster
Kinelll · 21/02/2023 17:16

PuppyMonkey · 21/02/2023 17:12

Stick a photo of her on your local Spotted page.Grin

Doesn't sound like your ornaments are going to last long out there TBF. Is it straight into the street from your front door?

I went back out a few moments later to get a photo of her to send to my friend but by that point she'd sped off down the street.

She's the one with the blue carrier bag 😁

I have a driveway between the road and my house but you can see the ornaments as you're walking along the street.

A CF caught in the act
OP posts:
Original poster
Kinelll · 21/02/2023 17:17

JizzlordTheCat · 21/02/2023 17:12

Do you know her or was she some passing randomer?

I've never seen her before in my life, just an opportunist I think. I wonder if her bags are full of her other stolen knick knacks 🤔

OP posts:
PuppyMonkey · 21/02/2023 17:21

Shameless.Shock

IglesiasPiggl · 21/02/2023 17:21

Loving her excuse! Did she say that without even missing a beat?

IsItBedtimeYetNope · 21/02/2023 17:22

Ooh OP I'm cheering for you here. What a result! A similar lightfingered person stole my beautiful ornamental hazel tree and two planters and I never did catch them or get them back.

Choconut · 21/02/2023 17:29

It might be worth moving them round the back especially if your kids are fond of them. God some people will just steal anything that's not nailed down.

DuckbilledSplatterPuff · 21/02/2023 17:32

Type of stuff that clearly belongs to kids. Shameful

LivingDeadGirlUK · 21/02/2023 17:35

Someone on one of our Spotted pages caught a lady digging up her tulip bulbs...

SenseFromThoughtDivide · 21/02/2023 18:18

Or, if possible, do the same as we did when someone stole the Christmas lights off a tree in our porch and chain them down

Lostacorn · 21/02/2023 18:41

My friend and neighbour gave me an ugly garden ornament for my birthday one year. I put it outside and hoped someone would steal it. Sadly no takers. I started edging it ever closer to my other neighbours but he noticed and moved it back towards my house. I would have danced with joy if I saw someone try and take it. Once you have one ugly ornament it encourages others to give you them. A third neighbour likes putting fake flowers and decorative bits and bobs in my flower pots. I would love a cf to help themselves to some of it. Mine will forever be the house with ugly garden ornaments and fake tat in front of it.

Epicstorm · 21/02/2023 19:29

Sitting in a cafe with my friend when she got a notification from her ring doorbell. Someone was in the covered area near her door picking up a carrier bag she’d left outside. Then he took off with it. Bag contained a pair of boots that she’d put in there until she had time to clean off the dog s* she’d got on them the day before. Just hoping he walked them over his carpets/floor before he realised.

DosCervezas · 21/02/2023 21:29

I remember my student days working in a supermarket and we had plenty of little old lady shoplifters. They were especially fond of cheese, coffee chocolate and meat.

Btjdkfnn · 21/02/2023 21:36

There are people like this, they will just steal anything when the opportunity arises. Disgusting.

Biffatcrafts · 21/02/2023 22:04

When I lived in the UK I had a little 2 bed victorian terraced house, the ones where you have a little postage stamp garden (mined was paved over) at the front. I had a little collection of pots and planters which made it look cheerful and cared for, but the number of pots (complete with plants) I had stolen was crazy, but I could never spot who was taking them. Eventually I superglued them onto the paving stones, which I didn't really expect would work, but it did. Then a couple of weeks later I was in my living room (which looked out to the street) and glanced out the window. Saw a figure bent over, and obviously struggling. Turned out it was a neighbour from 2 doors down who was trying to take a pot with some pansies in it, but couldn't get it off the ground because of the superglue.

When I went out and challenged her she just ran off and wouldn't speak to me.

I then went and took a look over her fence into her back yard, and there were all my missing pots and plants - about 12 in total.

Ended up going round that evening with DH and demanded the pots back. At first she denied it all, but then her husband came to the door too and agreed we could take them back. I think he was really embarrassed by the whole thing, but she definitely wasn't!

She never spoke to us again after that and about a year later we moved - but I did warn the new owner to be careful about putting planters outside.

There really are some CFs around!