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 On our way home from a great holiday on the while stopping at an aries 20 miles outside lyon on the A6 we where brocken into. we arrived at the aries at about 1 am very tired, locked the van down( 1996 Autostratus Boxer) but when we awoke the passenger door had been opened and the oh purse had been taken from the glove box with two credit cards and about 130 euros, nothing else allthough my sat nav was on the windscreen and my grandsons dvd and 2 screens was on the drivers seat.

No we were not gassed just over tired to hear.

this will not put us off france as we are allready looking a site fore next year.

We bought a Black and Decker battery operated portable alarm years ago.  It's only about 6x4x1 inch.  It fits between books, or goes into a holder which can be screwed or velcro'd to a 'wall' or ceiling/roof.  It's the sensor type, so any movement is picked up and the alarm goes off within a few seconds - you just have to put it in position, test it and perhaps mask out some of the sensor with some tape.

We've used it over and over again and it certainly does give peace of mind.  It's been set up in out tent/unit when we've gone out and also when sleeping en route.  It also has a 'bell' facility instead of the alarm ... and when the kids were small we set it up to alert us if they left a room.

This isn't it, but it's similar except fancier than ours (though it doesn't say what the delay is and you don't want one with a 60 second delay when parked up).  It's a different shape too.

http://www.outdoorgb.com/p/compact_pir_alarm/?utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=directory&utm_content=GBP&currency=GBP&country=GBR

For a few pounds it can stop those worries.  Search around on the www and you may well find something more appropriate.  Stick it up in the cabin and Bob's yer uncle!

Oh ... and a word of warning!  One year we got stuck in France when towing a folding camper and had to spend a night sleeping in the car as we didn't want to set up.  We stayed in a lorry park in an aire.  The wife and kids were worried so I locked the doors.  Still worried, so I switched on the car alarm, which protects the exterior.  Yes, you're there before me!  One of us wanted the loo, pulled the locked door lever back and all hell broke loose.  By the time I'd found the keys and managed to switch off the car alarm there were a lot of irate French and Spanish lorry drivers awake!  We drove away as slowly and quietly as we could ...!!

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BTW, I think that for as little as £40/£50 now you can get a similar movement detector home alarm which just plugs in to the electrical supply and a telephone socket and it actually calls up to 3 telephone numbers to alert you/a neighbour of a break-in.  So when you go on holiday you can input the numbers of three neighbours and let them disturb any intruders!   I think Screwfix Direct sell it.

PCs fitted with a webcam and some low-priced software can similarly call, or upload pictures of intruders to a website and/or store them on the PC (as long as that's not stolen!).  Mine takes 16 shots in fast succession from the relevant camera.  The areas of sensitivity to movement are set within the software on the screen - so you can make sure that only doors and windows are covered perhaps.  That software cost me a few pounds on Ebay, but is no longer available.

I know it's an expense, but worth it perhaps?  We used to dread coming home from holiday and finding we'd been burgled as we've been broken into before and it's not a nice experience.

I have a feeling a few peeps also rig up a strap horizontally between the front doors so you cannot open either of the doors from the outside due to the resistance from the other door.

Interesting that you say you weren't gassed and it was just sheer tiredness that meant you slept through it.  Just proves this is possible to do having read so many "we were definitely gassed cos we could never have slept through it" stories.

I hope you are all alright after your ordeal.

Ali

First off, my sympathies are with the Johnbow family. But again this does demonstrate what rubbish locks are fitted into caravans and Motorhomes. Replace the lot! Use proper deadlocks and slam locks. They can be bought for sensible money these days. If you have opening rear doors, make a drop-in bar for the inside of the doors.

The Wicked People want a quick in and away. They are not going to trouble people who have good visible locks on their vehicles. I have opened side doors on both Caravans and Motorhomes with a screwdriver when Numpties have locked themselves out.

The industry is as much responsible for this problem as anyone. You would sometimes think that from the rubbish locks that fitted that they worked hand in glove with the Oinks...

We had good news today, we received a letter from the police in Enschede in Holland with my wifes purse in, complete with credit cards and driving lience minus the cash..

It was found by B Ulkeman from Nijverdal in the service area who handed in to his police when he got home. 

B Ulkeman if you read this i thank you.

You can buy a small security box from Machine Mart or Screwfix, we have one under the front box in our caravan useful for house keys uK cash etc when abroad.They are not expensive and are quite solid. Ours has a thick plate underneath, the coach bolts go into the box and tighten up inside.

I managed to break one key so now having fun trying to get a new one, our local key place has on on order! So a liberal squirt of WD 40 will be applied each year!!

We don't stop overnight in aires, we try to plan  anight stop and start looking for a campsite about 4 pm when travelling, but that's just personal choice!