...to think that this is the ultimate mix of stupidity and selfishness?

[specialsubject]

in our local market town today, walked past the cake shop. A woman rushes past me to go in and join the queue inside, having just got out of her car which she has abandoned parked on the double yellow lines outside the shop. (There is a car park 50m away).

the car had the engine running, the keys in (obviously) and her handbag on the front seat.

jaw still sore from bouncing off the pavement...

Was it Greggs?

Well its stupid and selfish but not quite as stupid as leaving a rake prongs pointing up right outside your front door.

So no not ultimate

How could she pay for the cake if she's left her handbag behind?

Maybe she was hypo and dead hungry.

sugarice i hardly ever take my handbag out the car for one shop. I either grab my debit card or take my purse...you don't need a whole handbag! Unless, you carry gold bars to pay with?

DM hopped out of her car, ran up a few steps and posted a card through her friend's door.

She got her car back three months later.

Shamy I always take my bag everywhere .

No, there's no gold bars and bag's not posh, I feel bear without it when I'm out.

You should have seized your chance and nicked her car! (Unless it was a crap car.) Is your local market town a very lovely place with little crime - the sort of place where the local paper reports 'lost glove found' as headline news?

edam - sadly not quite that low a crime level, but I think she did get away with it.

I am ashamed to admit that it did cross my mind to get into the car and drive it round the corner, but then all the stuff about theft, driving without insurance etc came to mind, so I didn't.

The Greggs is down the road, this was the posh, tasty and pricier cake shop.

I was always taught that leaving the handbag on the seat is asking for a smashed window. By the time they have found out that it is empty, it is too late.

edam do you live in my town?! That was in fact a headline one week in our local paper! OP I feel your irritation. Hate it when people are too lazy to park - apparently they're significantly more important than the rest of us mere mortals

I would have been tempted to steal it for 10 mins to teach her a lesson. In the same way, if im walking behind someone and their handbag is open and their purse is Sitting on top I want to nick it and then return it when they realise it's gone. I saw a toddler alone in a park in the summer (turned out her parents were actually there but distracted by a dog) and was sort of tempted to grab her and then when the parents freaked out I could pop up and say 'it's ok I have her!' and they'd never do that again.

Thoughts like this make me think I'm a massive freak

That's very stupid. You might as well paint "Please steal me!" on the outside of the car as well.

I always either take my handbag out of the car, or put it in the boot / glove compartment out of sight, no matter how few shops I'm going in. If the handbag's on the seat, it's a temptation to thieves. The thieves won't know whether or not it's empty until after they've broken into the car.

If this woman does this a lot while she pops into the shops, then sooner or later someone's likely to steal the car - and then, her insurance almost certainly won't pay out because she's left it running with the keys in it.