Caravan Break in and Theft on French Service Station Areas

[DJM]

Dear Forum members - a further word of warning, the events described below are actual events, not rumours.

We have just got back from our holiday in the South of France today, and want to make all forum members aware that burglary from caravans whilst people stay overnight on French Auto route service stations enroute is still happening very frequently.

We spoke to two British couples who were robbed of all cash, credit cards and camera equipment whilst staying at Montpelier services. They were not alone and were congregated with seven or eight other caravanners. There was no indication of any forced entry to the caravan doors and were not woken up by the intruders, but cannot definitely say there were "gassed", but did not hear anything. Both couples said they hid their cash and cards in their vans well, but obviously these criminals are professionals and had no problems finding them and very confident to steal from occupied caravans.

They also took the car keys and took anything of value from the cars, but did not steal the cars.

For all of you sceptics that say you have stayed overnight in French service stations for years without any problems, be warned, there is always a first time.

Stay safe, pull off the motorway and find yourself a site, there are plenty of them available within 15 minutes drive. In my opinion it's well worth it and not worth the risk. One of the victims intends to sell his car and van now because of his experience as both he and his wife are now very scared of this occurence. Not a nice thing to happen to anyone and not easy to obtain fuel, pass through the tolls and obtain food etc to enable you to continue on your journey / holiday when you have no cash or any method of paying. You have been warned, make up your own mind and think about your decision to take the easy stop over.

The police were not interested but full marks to the management of Esterel Caravaning near St Raphael who let both clients run up credit until they sourced funds from back home.

Regards, Dave

 

[MikeP]

Here we go again.

Is there really a "magic" knock-out gas which someone can administer so easily without causing serious injury. If so, maybe the NHS should buy it, as it sounds much better than usual anaesthetic.

If what Dave says is true, then I suspect that the stories could be in support of dodgy insurance claims.

Why bother stealing a little cash and some second hand electrical goods? If I had the magic gas, I would target lorry loads of computers or mobile phones.

 

[DJM]

Here we go again.

Is there really a "magic" knock-out gas which someone can administer so easily without causing serious injury. If so, maybe the NHS should buy it, as it sounds much better than usual anaesthetic.

If what Dave says is true, then I suspect that the stories could be in support of dodgy insurance claims.

Why bother stealing a little cash and some second hand electrical goods? If I had the magic gas, I would target lorry loads of computers or mobile phones.

Mike,

I would not have bothered wasting my time sending my comments in if the information I have given was not true. I also said they could not definately say one way or the other that they were "gassed" by magic NHS gas in inverted commers. However, I can tell you both couples were severely distressed and very upset when they arrived on site. No dodgy insurance claims comes into it, and I don't care what you think mate, this actually happened and is happening very frequently. No scare mongering - just facts, it might be you next time.

 

[BrianStAlbans]

A Google search brings up detectors for "gassing" from narcotics, ether, butane and propane ,all saying "increasingly used in thefts in Europe". Even PC mag has run this product test/give away.

http://www.practicalcaravan.co.uk/accessories/index.html
Strangely the same Google search does not bring up articles or reports on actual gassings.

Personally I think I would take precautions given the small costs involved for monitors and site fees "just in case". Brian

 

[613613]

Dave , thanks for the warning, we are travelling this week and had intended in staying overnight in a service area. We are now looking for a site to spend the night at. I can only hope that others heed your warning......thanks

 

[BrianStAlbans]

Still no caravan gassing stories found but I did find this....

25 May 2006

VIEIRA RAID: 5 ARRESTED

FIVE men were arrested yesterday following a gas attack on ex-Arsenal ace Patrick Vieira and his family as they slept in their French villa.

A gang pumped knockout gas through the air-conditioning then stole

 

[MikeP]

Mike,

I would not have bothered wasting my time sending my comments in if the information I have given was not true. I also said they could not definately say one way or the other that they were "gassed" by magic NHS gas in inverted commers. However, I can tell you both couples were severely distressed and very upset when they arrived on site. No dodgy insurance claims comes into it, and I don't care what you think mate, this actually happened and is happening very frequently. No scare mongering - just facts, it might be you next time.

But yet again this is a second-hand account. Despite the regular trips abroad made by people on this forum, no-one has personally experienced it.

At least we have a clue now ... the NHS gas might be carried in "inverted commers". You didn't mention that there was an overturned lorry involved as well.

 

[MikeP]

I still doubt the science of it, and I worry about the hype. Is there a doctor in the house? Is it possible? Assuming that there were both large and small Vieras in the property, what were the physical effects of administering an adult dose of the magic gas to children?

I don't believe much of what I read in the papers (except that Blair and his government are ........... no, I'd better not say).

 

[DJM]

But yet again this is a second-hand account. Despite the regular trips abroad made by people on this forum, no-one has personally experienced it.

At least we have a clue now ... the NHS gas might be carried in "inverted commers". You didn't mention that there was an overturned lorry involved as well.

Good morning Mike,

I am only passing on to other forum members what I witnessed. This was two extremely distressed couples who have had their holidays ruined. If you would like their email adresses to tell them you don't believe what they and I am saying please let me know. Also please feel free to contact Esterel Caravaning and speak to their management who will also confirm these events. The site let them use their phones to speak to family back home to arrange funds to be sent to the site etc. I am surprised at your attitude, you just can't help some people and you are most definately one of them.

 

[MikeP]

Good morning Mike,

I am only passing on to other forum members what I witnessed. This was two extremely distressed couples who have had their holidays ruined. If you would like their email adresses to tell them you don't believe what they and I am saying please let me know. Also please feel free to contact Esterel Caravaning and speak to their management who will also confirm these events. The site let them use their phones to speak to family back home to arrange funds to be sent to the site etc. I am surprised at your attitude, you just can't help some people and you are most definately one of them.

Au contraire, I can be helped and I am very grateful for the advice I have received - both personally and generally - over the last couple of years.

But I am also a balanced and intelligent person, and I am definitely anti-hype. I have yet to hear of any medical evidence to back up these stories - hence my "is there a doctor ...?" question.

Let's looks from another angle; did the victims drink moderately or heavily the night before? Did they take sleeping tablets? Did they leave their van door unlocked and their valuables on display? (I know there's a double entendre there, and LB will probably post a smutty response!)

 

[JamesFrance]

Having made the journey to Spain from the UK for the last 20 years, we know many people who have been robbed, usually on the motorway service areas. The Catalan village is notorious, just before the Spanish border.

In many ways the gas or whatever it is is irrelevant, but at least it may save you from being killed or injured whilst putting up a resistance.

We have spent many nights in French villages however, but in a motorhome. The golden rule is to avoid towns and particularly anywhere within 50 miles of a city.

In the English language press in Spain there are regular reports of motorway bandits being sent to jail. They usually used to be from South America but in recent years it tends to be North Africans or Eastern Europeans.

Last year we were passed by a German Reg BMW near Barcelona with 3 dark men pointing down at the front of our van. It then tried to herd us onto the hard shoulder. When I put a phone to my ear they roared away and of course there was no problem with our vehicle.

These problems are not a few incidents being retold. They are happening every day.

James

 

[Keith_5115489]

Do you work for the Media ? its usually them that start all the scaremongering. We are due to travel to western France as we have done for the past 6 years. I have not heard of anyone being 'Gassed' that is not to say it doesn't happen but warning people is one thing, but scaring them with these stories is reckless. It may very well put people off foriegn travel which on the whole is very safe if you take basic precausions. Many thousands of us travel every year to France and Spain with no problems at all. an extremely small percentage may well suffer and I feel very sorry for these people but thefts have occurred from respectful sites as well. Staying in rest places on Motorways can also be safe if you are vigalent.

 

[DJM]

Having made the journey to Spain from the UK for the last 20 years, we know many people who have been robbed, usually on the motorway service areas. The Catalan village is notorious, just before the Spanish border.

In many ways the gas or whatever it is is irrelevant, but at least it may save you from being killed or injured whilst putting up a resistance.

We have spent many nights in French villages however, but in a motorhome. The golden rule is to avoid towns and particularly anywhere within 50 miles of a city.

In the English language press in Spain there are regular reports of motorway bandits being sent to jail. They usually used to be from South America but in recent years it tends to be North Africans or Eastern Europeans.

Last year we were passed by a German Reg BMW near Barcelona with 3 dark men pointing down at the front of our van. It then tried to herd us onto the hard shoulder. When I put a phone to my ear they roared away and of course there was no problem with our vehicle.

These problems are not a few incidents being retold. They are happening every day.

James

Hello James,

Many thanks for your comments on my posting, it's good to know that someone else realises what is happening in France and Spain. Like yourself we tour France and Spain for at least three months per year,have a lot of overseas experience and only use secure caravan sites for overnight stops. One of the men who was robbed is a long distance international HGV driver, and therefore uses the service station areas on a regular basis with no problems whatsoever until two weeks ago when stopping overnight in his caravan and not his lorry cab. He now says he will always find a caravan site to stop on and never use the services again for his caravan.

Travel safely, regards Dave

 

[Val & Frank]

Au contraire, I can be helped and I am very grateful for the advice I have received - both personally and generally - over the last couple of years.

But I am also a balanced and intelligent person, and I am definitely anti-hype. I have yet to hear of any medical evidence to back up these stories - hence my "is there a doctor ...?" question.

Let's looks from another angle; did the victims drink moderately or heavily the night before? Did they take sleeping tablets? Did they leave their van door unlocked and their valuables on display? (I know there's a double entendre there, and LB will probably post a smutty response!)

Gentlemen please, rather than try to debate the pros and cons of this lets just say when on holiday take care of your passport and cash etc. One thing that we have done is to copy our passport saved them, and then sent them to each other as e-mail attachments. This way if you do happen to get robbed, all you need do is find an internet cafe or even a friendly site manager to download and print one of your most important documents. As for our credit card after copying it we sent it to our son who can contact the company and cancel it should we lose it. I am sure many of us have similar precautions that we take,we should all share them on a new thred ????

regards

Val & Frank

 

[JamesFrance]

Keith if you are talking to me, no I do not work for the media. I am a 68 year old retired person who thinks it is irresponsible to promote ignorance of everyday problems on a public forum. There are a lot of first timers who may read these posts and may put themselves in a vulnerable situation as a result.

It doesn't worry me travelling abroad, however a few basic precautions are only common sense.

Spending a night being vigilant is not my idea of a pleasant holiday. Why not turn off the autoroute and have a quiet night on one of the excellent campings municipal which will cost you about 10 euros.

 

[JamesFrance]

Hello James,

Many thanks for your comments on my posting, it's good to know that someone else realises what is happening in France and Spain. Like yourself we tour France and Spain for at least three months per year,have a lot of overseas experience and only use secure caravan sites for overnight stops. One of the men who was robbed is a long distance international HGV driver, and therefore uses the service station areas on a regular basis with no problems whatsoever until two weeks ago when stopping overnight in his caravan and not his lorry cab. He now says he will always find a caravan site to stop on and never use the services again for his caravan.

Travel safely, regards Dave

Hi Dave,

Talk about Ostriches.(is that spelled right?)

Only common sense.

James

 

[MonkeyHanger]

hi,

I am planning a trip to france with the family and the brother in law and his family and we hav'et really heard of anything like this before but we were planning to stay on a site over night anyway.

Thanks for tipping us off we will now be extra careful but we will not cancell our trip on the possability of something that could happen anywhere even the u.k.

 

[JamesFrance]

Andrew, theres nothing new about any of this and noone should even dream about cancelling a trip abroad.

With elementary precautions you are much safer in France than in England these days. That's why so many of us choose to retire here.

James

 

[CliveV]

Certainly there is a problem and I for one would rather be forwarned. So thanks to those who have warned us.

It is very difficult not to let yourself slip into "I am on holiday" mood and let your guard down. Best to stay vigilent and use a campsite.

Mind you we had a an incident when staying in a hotel in Spain. A lady selling flowers came in to gardens and was literally demanding attention whilst children with her tried to "help" find the corect money from your purse or wallet.

When challenged they became very nasty - suddenly saying in English in a very menacing way "you enjoy the rest of your holiday - if you can!"

The security guards were excellent and were there quickly but they did warn us not to get too close to these people as they have knives.

So it can happen anywhere. The answer just has to be stay alert.

I also carry a second cheap wallet but keep the main wallet well hidden.

 

[rayc]

Be sensible but keep things in perspective. I used a bus out of Poole bus station last Saturday night at 11pm and felt more threatened than I have whilst travelling and working in many parts of the world, including the middle east and Afica.

I'd rather take my chances at a French Autoroute aire than a Saturday night in Bournemouth, I know where you are more likely to see violence.

 

[OldBean]

Just a word - some years ago there was an article in the press about this type of incident, and we were amazed to see the address quoted was two doors up from us. Supposedly the couple were on their way to Biarritz when they were gassed in an aire, and their jewellery (quite a valuable amount to have with you on a caravan holiday) was taken, along with cards, car keys, cash, passports, etc. Our neighbours at that address had a caravan - and we went around to see to them about it. They had not seen the article - and we were amazed to hear that they had not been involved in any sort of incident - but had just come back from Biarritz!! They contacted the paper to ask them to make it clear that this was not a true report - but nothing ever came of it.

Obviously we all need to take appropriate precautions but each year these stories circulate, and yet from the thousands of us who use these websites, and travel to France, none have had a personal experience of it actually happening to them.

 

[JamesFrance]

Just a word - some years ago there was an article in the press about this type of incident, and we were amazed to see the address quoted was two doors up from us. Supposedly the couple were on their way to Biarritz when they were gassed in an aire, and their jewellery (quite a valuable amount to have with you on a caravan holiday) was taken, along with cards, car keys, cash, passports, etc. Our neighbours at that address had a caravan - and we went around to see to them about it. They had not seen the article - and we were amazed to hear that they had not been involved in any sort of incident - but had just come back from Biarritz!! They contacted the paper to ask them to make it clear that this was not a true report - but nothing ever came of it.

Obviously we all need to take appropriate precautions but each year these stories circulate, and yet from the thousands of us who use these websites, and travel to France, none have had a personal experience of it actually happening to them.

Val please do not assume these are rumours spread by idiots. I have several friends who have experienced these things and they are not liars. Just be careful.

James

 

[MikeP]

Val please do not assume these are rumours spread by idiots. I have several friends who have experienced these things and they are not liars. Just be careful.

James

And I have several friends who have never experienced this. Yes, be careful - but don't be paranoid.

 

[cris_408518]

OK. Here we go again, crime happens in all countries and on camp sites to.

These posts are a load of B******s! There is a chance that ANY WHERE you go be you in a car with or without a caravan that you will get robbed!

My son and some friends came down to LeMans and the first two tales they heard at a trackside bar were of Caravanners having a load of gear stolen from their vans at a camp site some distance from LeMans and that an English couple at the site said that locals know the vans will be empty during the race weekend!

Also know that a contact had his well secured and alarmed 4 X 4 (he has the car back unmarked) driven away with trailer from a UK service area, a car had pulled in along side him as he parked and set the alarm.

A device that breakdown recovery people use that reads the alarm signal "may have" been used to open his car and disarm the alarm it has been suggested.

Caravanners in the village here were broken into last week again whilst they are away, they store their van elsewhere and the police are investigating if there could be a link to the storage facility according to neighbours my wife has just said as I read post here out to her.

 

[JamesFrance]

It really is a pity that some people choose to make offensive comments on this forum like the one above from cris.

I am new to this site, but have noticed a lot of aggro taking place, such as the interesting thread about towcars started by Steve in Leo, which was hijacked and then deleted by the moderators.

Why can't people post about things they know something about rather than airing their prejudices?

There are many useful items of information here posted by those who have the experience and knowledge to help us all, so please let us enjoy this forum and cut out the backbiting.

We are here for pleasure, not to be abused,

James