Safe place for passport

[poshme]

Following in from an earlier thread about a friend- I've offered to look after her kids passports for her as she's worried her H might take kids abroad. He can be violent.
My DH is very concerned- he says (fairly I think) that if she told him under pressure that I have them, he could come round here & be very angry with me.
Are there places you can keep passports not in the home?
Anyone know?

Safe deposit box in a bank?

Some banks offer safe custody services, where you pay to keep a deposit box with them. Mine charges £50 a year I think, but you have to give notice to get the box back as they aren't kept on site. Your friend's bank might do similar.

Some business centres where you can rent an office offer this kind of facility if your bank can't help.

Or this is fairly central if it is not needed in a hurry:

www.uksecurityservices.com/safe_deposit_boxes/our_location/

With respect, I think you and your DH should have a little more courage. It's not a crime to keep someone else's property safe. If this man did come round to your home being angry and behaving violently - which I doubt because nasty little men who bully women and children are usually cowards - then you'd call the police and have him arrested. This would actually help your friend as it would then be on record that he was aggressive.

Solicitors office?

If he came round to demand the passports I would phone the police.
If you are in London/the Home Counties then MegaBank have easy to access safe deposit boxes at their branches.

Cogito that's a fair point, but DH worries cos he's away a lot, and I'm at home alone with small children. Whilst I would of course call the police if necessary, we are very rural, with the nearest town over 15 miles down winding lanes. I know the police don't just stay in the towns, but it would take them a while to get here, and DH is worried about what could happen to me or the kids in that time.
Thanks to all the suggestions.
Im hoping it won't ever be a problem.

In that case, you should probably alert the police DV team on their non-emergency number 101. Explain what's happening, say that you fear reprisals and give them the heads up that they may be called out in the near future. Again, by having it on record that this man is violent or potentially violent, you are helping your friend.