That Crazy Month of March – Lock Snapping Madness.
There are some Months of the year that for specific reasons always turn out to be chaotic to the extreme. This is normally the month of December, the silly season as I call it, the week leading up to Christmas were normal right thinking people forget what planet they live on, and invariably lose all sense of awareness as they rush to do their shopping.
The amount of Lockouts I normally get in the run-up to Christmas borders on ridiculous, with homeowners finding all sorts of ways of locking themselves out.
So What Exactly Happened?
The title of the craziest month of the year goes to March 2023 and will live in my vivid memory for all the wrong reasons. Never in my 16 years as a local Midlothian locksmith have I experienced such a crazy month.
It started as normal with it being cold and the everyday door locks repairs and standard locksmith work I generally do.
I’m just looking to get through the next 3 weeks to clear all my work outstanding work before I have what is a well-deserved 9-day break in Germany and Austria. What transpired was mayhem, fear and chaos caused by a few selfish individuals hell-bent on bringing terror to the people of Midlothian and East Lothian.
The first call comes during the second week of March about a break-in at a new build home in Gorebridge Midlothian. The homeowners had just come back from their holiday to find their home had been broken into and one of their cars had been stolen. The method of entry for the thieves was through the French Patio doors by snapping the door lock.
I attended the first call and fixed the door handles that had been pulled off and fitted new 3-star Anti-Snap locks.
Two days later I get another call from another Gorebridge resident to say they had just returned home from their holiday to find their home had also been broken into and one of their cars had been stolen.
It was the same method of entry, pulling the handles of the door and then snapping the standard Euro door lock. Both break-ins committed on the same night with the same method and now 2 cars stolen from Gorebridge.
A Mini Crime Wave Has Hit Midlothian
The alarm bells are starting to ring as we realise we have a mini crime wave ongoing and a group of thieves snapping door locks and stealing cars in Midlothian. Its only a week to go on my holiday and it’s not really the type of work I had hoped for as i prepared to go away on my travels.
The next day the phone rings from a previous customer in Port Seton saying they had been broken into during the night and there was some damage to the back composite door. On my arrival, I could see it was the same method of entry as the previous ones in Gorebridge with the handles ripped off and the lock snapped.
It looks like we have a serial lock snapper hell-bent on causing as much grief as possible to homeowners and driving off with as many cars as possible in this crazy month of March. Another set of handles was replaced and Anti-Snap locks were fitted.
Not only did they break into this house they also stole a car from a house just round the corner.
Wednesday 23rd March
It’s only 2 days until I set off on my own holiday. Its time to start winding down, finishing any outstanding work, and getting packed.
That was the plan until the phone rang again, this time from a homeowner in Lasswade Midlothian. He tells me that he had an attempted break-in overnight and the barrel lock was no longer in the Patio French doors.
The thieves had been thwarted on this occasion by the homeowner and they made off empty-handed. So we now have numerous break-ins where they used lock snapping to get into homes and steal cars.
Although the culprits were left empty-handed the fear that it left behind among the neighbors was palpable. The phone started to ring as the neighbors who were concerned about the vulnerability of their Patio French door locks wanted reassurance and new Anti-snap locks fitted.
I had no time left to get additional locks so I had to ration the specific locks I had amongst the Lasswade homeowners to ensure the ones that didn’t feel safe could be secure while I was away. That along with a few reassuring words to their Facebook group was just about enough to ease their minds until I came back and dealt with anyone else who wanted their locks upgraded to Anti-Snap.
Breathe a huge sigh of relief.
I managed to have a great holiday and didn’t hear about any more break-ins that involved lock snapping so maybe just maybe the perpetrators are having their own holiday at the moment.
Hopefully, I don’t experience another month like That Crazy Month of March.
