DH and I are staying in a holiday cottage which has a footpath right outside the front door. We love it here, and this is the fourth time we've stayed. It's very picturesque, and a famous (recently deceased) actor used to stay here, which may, or may not be relevant.
The front door has a lever type handle which can be opened from the outside without a key unless it is locked from within. We've learned from experience to keep it locked at all times.
The footpath is very busy and every single day we hear people trying our door handle. Usually we hear this happen about twice a day, but, bearing that we're not actually inside the cottage all of the time, it could be more frequent.
On one occasion last year I happened to be standing right next to the door when the familiar rattling started. I was able to unlock the door quickly, and threw it open to be faced by a CF woman who said, bold as brass, "I know it's a bit cheeky, but would you mind if I had a look round? I'd really love to see what it's like inside". I sent her packing.
This is really getting on our nerves. It's difficult to confront people as by the time we've extracted ourselves from the comfy sofas, made our way to the front door and unlocked it, they're usually disappearing round the corner. DH wants to start leaving the door unlocked when we're downstairs, so that we can see what happens if they actually manage to get themselves inside. I would like to find a way of connecting the door handle to the electricity supply.