To not like this at all...

[PotatoSack11]

And get driveway gates fitted to stop it happening again.

We've been having a clear out and had left some things outside our front (on our driveway, tucked round the side of the fence so not visible just walking past unless you peered over). Admittedly they were just for the tip.

Anyway, got home earlier and some of it has gone. Neighbour was in their garden and said a guy down the road had come and taken it and they thought we said it was okay.

DH thinks it's great and has saved us a job. I really hate the idea that someone has come onto our drive to snoop to see if we have anything they can take and I've said I want to get gates put up now. He thinks I'm being dramatic seen as it's for the tip anyway.

I just think it's really cheeky to assume you can take things?

They would probably just open the gates, cheeky bugger.

@DinosaurDiana

They would probably just open the gates, cheeky bugger.

Lockable gates I mean!

Round our way leaving stuff at the bottom of the drive is an invitation to take things. A bit cheeky to take stuff away if it was out of sight, but possibly a misunderstanding. It wouldn't bother me much. I wouldn't leave stuff out the front of the house if I wasn't prepared for it to disappear.

We had a skip on our drive a few years ago. We were re-locating so had a big clear out. It was a small skip and I was worried it wouldn’t be big enough. Turns out it got practically emptied every night by people rummaging through it so I needn’t have worried. It did make me feel quite uncomfortable, seeing randomers appear on our drive and start fishing around. I let the ones who knocked first have a look and take what they wanted. Anyone who just started rummaging, I told to bugger off.

In my area (East London) we leave things at the end of the drive as an invitation for people to help themselves. Everyone does it here - it saves a job and it's much better that someone makes use of it rather than it going to the dump.

End of the drive by the road yes. up by the house, absolutely not.

How did they know it was there?

I think someone had a thread on here the other day where she'd put things on her driveway (but she wanted to keep them) and someone came up the drive and took them. Mass opinion here was that she had it coming to her - bit unfair, I thought!

We have scrap men that come round and take anything you leave out so we leave things on our front lawn just by the short front wall (lawn and wall are knee hieght) they take anything left there but leave things that are up by the house and the bins.

I find leaving stuff out for people to take very convenient...

however an experienced plumber advised against leaving scrap metal out (old radiator) as it encouraged the wrong sort of people to take it, then come back again later and start rooting around, looking over back gate etc (in his experience).

I once paid the Council to take away large items that we couldn't shift ourselves - useable 3-piece suite but without fire cert, chest freezer, etc
We put them on the driveway & they were all gone before the Council lorry arrived.
Never bothered paying since - everything goes.

YANBU. out of site should mean CFs don't take things!
In my area we also have the unwritten rule about leaving things on the pavement means they are up from grabs - we call it Wombling