AIBU to be furious that this isn’t illegal?

[YetAnotherHastyNameChange]

During Covid myself and another few mums in my area have been visiting and delivering food parcels to elderly people whose families have been unable to visit. During this time I’ve made some really good friends with some of the old ladies and now the dc are back at school I’ve been still visiting a couple of them to help out and have a catch up and chat with them.

One particular lady is really lovely, absolutely hilarious but quite frail and her house really is a tip. Her family who live a distance away pay for a cleaner to go in weekly but as the lady is always there she never lets the cleaner actually do much other than the bathroom and all the books and stuff she’s hoarded for years is still piled up everywhere. A couple of weeks ago her family collected her and took her back to their house now restrictions have eased and booked the cleaner to go in as normal but hoping she could throw a few bits out - really not important things but there’s stacks of magazines from the 90’s, endless Tupperware that doesn’t match and the owner really won’t notice when she returns.

Anyway, cleaner goes in a discovers lots of things have been moved around so phones family to see if it’s them. It’s not them but they find out some internet blogger who visits ‘abandoned places’ has broken in somehow, dressed up in her clothes, sat on her bed, took loads of photos of all her possessions and posted it all online as a ‘time capsule house’. Family contact police who claim no laws have been broken as there’s no sign of a break in and he is claiming to have been invited in. Lady is now hugely embarrassed as everyone has seen what a mess she lives in and is refusing to come home again.

Having looked at this mans page he’s been going all round my local area and letting himself into people’s caravans, abandoned schools, loads of houses which he claims are abandoned but quite possibly just second homes that haven’t been visited for a while, taking photos in through people’s windows of houses that are clearly lived in, going into farms and photographing all the barns with animals, machinery that could be stolen, broke into a Victorian cinema that is currently being rebuilt by volunteers but is in a dodgy area so will now almost certainly just get trashed.

How is this not illegal? Why is he allowed to do this? So many people have complained on his page that he’s been in their barn/ photographing their dining room while they were out etc. and he just blocks them from the page.

He’s getting loads of views on these pages so more and more people are going to start doing this, surely? I find it outrageous behaviour and can’t believe the police won’t intervene.

[MyDcAreMarvel]

I had no idea it was legal to enter someone’s home!

[toocold54]

When someone’s home gets broken into it’s not just the stuff that’s been taken which is distressing it’s the fact someone has come uninvited in your own safe space and then you feel like it can happen again - I can’t see how this is any different just because he didn’t take anything then it’s ok?!

I see people going into abandoned places which I admit I find interesting but to break into an obvious occupied home is disgusting!

[cuparfull]

@YouJustFoldItIn

Everyone locally knows who he is, where he lives and what his name is.

Really? Then I am very surprised that a group of local men haven't strung him up by his balls and demanded to know why he's poking around in the home of a vulnerable old lady while she is in hospital for the laughs and the instragram likes.

Can someone not do him over to teach him a lesson. He deserves a good beating.

[toocold54]

I might start letting myself into other peoples homes on a regular basis and using their washing machines, having showers and watching their TVs to save on electric as obviously this is completely acceptable in the eyes of the law.

[Jacopo]

As people know who he is, I suggest a big group of them enter his property and take a lot of photographs and put them online.

[Jacopo]

And I hope the DM find this story and publish his photograph.

[SnottyLottie]

I’ve just found him on Facebook, some of these ‘finds’ look rather suspicious 😡

[amylou8]

If he's not caused any damage, and he's not stolen anything, then no criminal offence has been committed. Would be civil trespass at most. I agree it's shocking.

[diddl]

If she wasn't there then she couldn't have invited him in could she?

And the family who collected her would have made sure that the house was locked up & anything turned off that needed to be?

[Sillysandy]

What a disgusting individual. The poor lady. How humiliating. I'm sorry OP I know nothing about the legalities but surely he is playing with fire and it's only a matter of time before he breaks in the wrong 'time capsule' and a younger relative delivers some local justice? Not recommending by the way just saying it's sure to happen.

[GerryManderson]

Guerilla tactic: doxx the bastard. Find out his name, adddress, email address or any other personal details. Publish them anonymously on sites like Twitter and Reddit and say he's a known creep where you live.

Alternative: post his page somewhere like 4Chan and ask others for help to get him taken down. Incels can get VERY angry when someone's Grandma is threatened.

[GuidonianHand]

@Thesearmsofmine

It’s called The Birdman Adevntures on Facebook.

PLEASE, nobody report the page to facebook. If it gets taken down the evidence goes.

PLEASE READ

[MyHairNeedsASnip]

It's absolute madness! So I could come back from the school run to find a 6ft fella sipping from a mug with a tripod set up in my front room and that's not illegal as long as there was no sign of forced entry and nothing was taken?? I'm lost for words...

[WineGetsMeThroughIt]

That's just shocking. The poor woman.

[Nith]

I'd have thought that the moment he turns on a light or similar he's stealing electricity?

[TheQueef]

Wow.
Also shocked that this is only a civil matter.

[MotherOfGodWeeFella]

Really intrusive - some of those houses do not even look abandoned. Dated yes, but abandoned? Who dusts and hoovers an abandoned house?

[Warmduscher]

There’s a YouTube channel as well - OP, is it the same person?

[SchadenfreudePersonified]

@HermioneWeasley

I wouldn’t be fobbed off with this - he wasn’t invited in and there’s lots of evidence to prove he’s breaking into other buildings. Breaking and entering is illegal

I agree with this - unfortunately it might just come under trespass, which is a civil offence.

However, would the family be prepared to take a private prosecution out? I doubt it would do much as this piece of sh*t would doubtless get "crowdfunded" - though possibly this lady's family could, too - this is a shocking thing to do. That poor woman - held up to public ridicule, and now frightened to go into her own home.

Perhaps this is an area where legislation needs to catch up with technology - but who in their right mind would ever have thought that anyone would do something like this?

The perpetrators are absolute sh*ts - they really are!

[SchadenfreudePersonified]

@Nith

I'd have thought that the moment he turns on a light or similar he's stealing electricity?

Oooh!

Good point!

[Warmduscher]

And an Instagram account.

[mam0918]

Im fine with urban exploring (although I think the onus is on the explorer not the land own if injury occurs) but the shocking thing here is that its peoples homes.

Theres a huge difference between exploring say an asylum thats been shut and abandoned for 50 years to capture it as a point in history before its demolished and breaking into people houses.

[Maggiesfarm]

Thanks for responding to my post, YetAnother.

I am appalled that the police aren't stopping this man from going in to people's houses. I don't care about abandoned buildings or even NT properties but someone's home is their private space which should not be invaded.

[thenightsky]

This is from his FB page. Doesn't look very 'abandoned' to me.

[MariposaLilly]

So in other words all private homes have public toilets. If I ever visit the UK again and nature calls when I'm out a strolling, I can go to the nearest home and use the bathroom - as long as I don't break the door down or steal anything. I would bring my own toilet paper so I'm not imprisoned for stealing a few squares toilet paper.

Here in the U.S I could actually shoot someone dead for coming into my house unwelcome and uninvited. We have private property rights, thank God.

I don't lock my doors and I shouldn't have to. (I live in a safe conservative rural area).