Not seen neighbours in weeks lights and heating on

[stillwaitingonaring]

Been thinking to myself the last week or so how weird it is that we haven't seen the neighbours in weeks probably coming up to a month now. Every single light on in the house and heating on all day and night.

They have had lots of police involvement in the past, she had 4 older children with learning difficulties police were being called out so many times a week. Her children are normally jumping on the car roof slamming doors etc. Not seen or heard a peep from them since mid December. I always felt sorry for her because it seemed like she couldn't cope with all of them in that small house they were running her ragged.

I knocked on yesterday morning and obviously no answer, is this something you would report to the police or just leave it?

@TheMooch

I am glad you phoned the police. Sounds like they know the family so may have info on them.

It was 'nosey' neighbours of my Gran who spotted her lounge curtains hadn't been opened like they'd normally would be one Saturday morning. They couldn't get hold of my parents so phoned the police, who broke in and found her dead.

Sograteful they'd kept a quiet eye on her curtains everyday and spotted it.

This is why I think it is always better to report and annoy someone who is fine, than ignore and miss the time it was serious.

No update here guys sorry, all lights still on as usual. Outside light is bloody bright too and it stays on all through the night! Luckily we have blackout blinds as it shines right into our room.

I will chase it up again tomorrow if I don't see any movement.

Thanks for sharing this. It's important sometimes to look out for our neighbours.

I think you’ve done the right thing.

It was Joyce Vincent who was found after 3 years. I think she had been in hiding from an abusive boyfriend so had moved areas and her old friends didn't know where she'd gone. It was terribly sad. Also her London flat was at the end of a building where no-one would ever walk by her kitchen and so the open window was not noticed.

I hope your neighbours have just moved away suddenly OP and you've done the right thing by informing the police.

I hope I have neighbours like you. Hope all is okay over there.

I hope my neighbours would call the police too.

Yes, you definitely did the right thing OP. My Mums neighbour noticed one morning that Mums curtains hadn’t been opened and popped round to find her unconscious on the floor. She had been there all night and unfortunately had collapsed before she had a chance to press her community alarm. I shall always be grateful to that neighbour.

Hope there is a positive outcome for you OP.

Hope they are ok and have moved. I hope someone would check on us if anything happened (hopefully they'd notice weren't accepting more amazon deliverys)

Could they have just moved out?

we had something similar with one of our neighbours, they were known to SS and always had police round for anti social behaviour They were sat outside until late at night with young children running around, then one day nothing, toys left outside along with Christmas decorations then found out her ex had been murdered by a gang and she and her children have been moved for her own protection. The flat remains empty .with the toys still scattered around and the decorations up and have been for the last 18 months. I am guessing the flat wont be given to anyone else while there is a risk of repercussions.

So strange but you definitely did the right thing repotting it

My guess would be they moved out quickly and quietly due to rent arrears. Fingers crossed it just something minor.

About 10 years ago in Edinburgh they found an elderly woman who had been dead inside her flat for 5 years. Her pension had been paid into her bank account and the bills were direct debit. I think there was a leak or something that prompted the discovery.

The sad case of Joyce Vincent always stayed with me. The film is very poignant - her friends that were interviewed remembered her, but all in different ways. It's like no one ever really knew the 'real' her. Guardian interview with the filmmaker

@MorningStarling

Personally I'd have stayed out of it, if there's been no sign of them for a month it'd be too late to help them anyway. These things tend to resolve themselves, one way or another. Maybe it's just that my neighbours are the sort of people you're glad if they've gone out for the night, let alone the month.

I did have a similar situation with one neighbour once, they suddenly vanished but with the lights left on. Didn't see them for three months, one day they just turned up again and carried on as if they'd never been away. Don't know where they went, maybe they'd been locked up for a few weeks.

You hear the odd horror story but the vast majority of the time these peculiar occurrences have a very boring outcome.

🤣

our neighbours left, ha estate, and after a wall people threw bricks through the window
perhaps they left and it ws advised the lights were left on?
and the heating too, to stop the pipes icing up

This has brought out the curtain twitcher in all of us.

otoh you would have thought the ha would move in another family quickly

www.freep.com/story/news/local/2015/02/28/mystery-mummified-body-year-later/24188637/

This woman lay undiscovered for years too.

Not to scare you or anyone but an older neighbour a few doors down wasn’t seen for a few weeks, then time passed and became a month or two, but because there was a light on all the neighbours assumed he was ok, although someone had said they heard he was/had been in hospital. Anyway, abiut 8 weeks in someone asked the police to do a welfare check. They knocked, no answer. Again someone asked-they got in but only looked ground floor and couldn’t see him so assumed he was in hospital after all. Months later someone asked again as there were flies in the windows and this time they got in, but the smell hit them and they found him upstairs in his bed. He’d been there for months rotting away. Everyone in the road felt so bad we didn’t try harder.

I've heard so many horror stories like that I think I remember hearing about the Joyce Vincent too.

I'm starting to think it's probably down to rent arrears and they just upped and left but then I am sure you have to wait to get an eviction notice until council re house you? I would of thought HA would of been making a ton of visits too if that was case.

I’m glad you called police about it.

This is reminding me of the way my DF was found. He was a v difficult man and we weren’t close. He used to live couple hours away but I hadn’t visited in a few months as he was a hoarder and didn’t like me attempting to clear his place, but I used to call/email maybe once every couple of months. One night around midnight police knocked on my door to tell me he’d been found dead. He had a lot of online friends in the US and one of them hadn’t heard from him, found it odd and had contacted police over here in the UK. Police had gone and done welfare check and found him dead in his armchair. Couple of days later I got a Christmas card from him in the post and from postage they were able to work out he’d likely died a couple of days before. V sad indeed. I’m so glad his online friend made that call.

That's very sad @Taranta I'm sorry.

Had a knock on the door a about 20 years ago. It was an elderly gentleman concerned about my neighbour, who hadn't been seen or answering door for several days. She was also elderly and quite vulnerable; widowed and desperately missed husband. Worked long hours but would chat when I saw her.
Went round, knocked, looked through the windows. Looked empty.
Phoned police who refused to go round and said that I could be prosecuted for breaking and entering if I tried to get in. Could not check bedroom windows as would have meant getting over a 6 foot wall.
Police also refused to do anything about anti social behaviour. Kids would remove heavy metal gates, bang on windows, egg houses.
Phoned on behalf of a different neighbour who wasn't physically able to re hang gates, they were removed 3 times. Police response, you talk to perpetrators. Didn't see them, just result of damage.
Awol neighbour was terrified by window banging. To their credit the police did eventually visit her. And paired her up with myself and partner, only residents under 70.Also suggested again that we spoke to kids re gates etc. We both worked long hours and didn't spend our time looking out of the window!
Police were useless. Encouraging that they now seem to do welfare checks.