.. to think this would blow some minds?

[BeepBoopBop]

….. standing next to my van, loading my stuff into it when a black Volvo pulls up behind me and the female driver asks if I’m leaving. I tell her no not yet so she thanks me and reverses back a little and stops and asks if the two men in a van (having a tea break) are leaving. They tell her the same thing, so she asks if it’s okay to leave the car in front of the van as she only needs five minutes. They say it’s fine and she says great, I’ll leave the keys in it just in case they need to leave and then off she pops.
Two minutes later, a car opposite starts up and the driver can’t manoeuvre out. as her car is in the way. Van driver jumps out and gets in her car to move it. At which stage, two startled heads pop up in the back. She had left the keys and her two young kids in her car.
Van driver lets the other driver out and neatly parks Volvo in the now vacant space.
Could you see this happening in the UK? By this time it was about 10 minutes - I wonder what she thought as she came back to the car park and saw her car wasn’t sitting where she left it?

I never close my sitting room curtains! I live in a quiet cul-de-sac, have lamps on timers, so whether I am in, out, or even on holiday, no-one would be any the wiser. It helps that the driveway and road slopes away, so my windows are a bit higher for ‘seeing in’. I can always tell when several of my neighbours are away, as they leave their curtains closed halfway. A dead giveaway for burglars, imho.

That's a really bad thing to do. What was she thinking?

I’m not clear what part of the “story” the OP is so confident will “blow our minds”

Omg she was so lucky! There was definitely a case in the news not that long ago where a father left the car running to pop to a shop with the baby sleeping in the back and the car was stolen and baby killed.

Don't you think it's quite unusual to hand over keys to your car to strangers whilst you pop out and 2 kids are in the car?

Indeed

but was it the absolutely reckless parenting of the mum
Or the all the other stuff about the van drivers moving the car and how wonderful France is?

I think you need to reread. She didn’t hand over the keys. She left them in the car with the children unattended

Apart from the kids, I do pretty much all of those things and have done for years.

Similar happened to me. I was manning an activity stall at a fete & this guy came over with 2 very young girls. They started colouring etc. I thought i heard him say 'I'm just getting a coffee' but thought I'd misheard. He then strode off leaving them! I couldn't leave the stall to go after him. After about 10 mins he came back. I did tell him that we weren't a childcare facility!

To be fair, I think it would be pretty safe to do this in the place where my parents moved after retirement. They bought the house off plan the year before they moved and as the building work was being finalised they were asked to choose which kitchen worktops and cupboards they wanted, finish of bathroom fixtures and other minor variants from standard. They asked for a burglar alarm to be installed. The builder was very surprised but complied. It's never been used once. The house stood unlocked from morning till bedtime while they were in. Out of habit it gets locked overnight. It's the kind of place where the local paper reports the police attending reports of public drunkenness. Not too long since they reported every outing made by the fire engine.

Where we live (Inner London) things are somewhat different.

Very common in the Netherlands- Dutch reform.

I think it's great there are places left where the story in the OP can happen.

I often leave my door unlocked, even at night...

🤣 I probably did the same!

I've told the story many times on here about my friend's mum and DP who lived in a similar area, assumed not locking the door was fine - until thugs burst in, beat them up, tied them up and robbed them. Police: "They target houses they suspect will be unlocked - remote, rural areas and old people's bungalows are favourites."

As I said earlier, it takes a second or two to lock your door - and what does anyone actually gain from not doing so?

Jeez.

Maybe there's something to be said for the unpredicability of the Calmac service after all! I think robbers can find easier targets without the risk of being unable to make a quick getaway from the island.

I don't lock my door at night. I live down a long lane with a locked gate. Have never felt unsafe.

Home counties and often don't lock my door when I go out, or close my downstairs windows. Also often leave my handbag in unlocked car, often with keys inside, while I go for a walk. I do reflect I am extremely lucky to live where I feel safe enough to do that. Wouldn't leave the kids (or dogs) in an unlocked car and wander off out of sight though, with or without keys.

I think that's a fair point. It's a low risk, probably, but why take the risk?