Villa Martin bad luck or not !

Tell your friends not to give into these immoral and hateful creatures. I know how I would feel if people burgled our place. Did the thieves steal much? What were they after? Years ago, my mother used to lock internal doors but you would have to hide the keys somewhere unfindable! I think you have to make gaining entry difficult or nigh impossible . We have a patio window with a heavy sliding gate to protect ityet when we came downstairs one morning, Windows has been slid wide open and my daughter’s handbag was lying outside open...money all gone. Hey husband was advised to drill into the top and bottom in the middle of the two doors and insert large security screws. The thief simply placed their Hands through the gates onto the glass and pushed up, this released the locks and they pushed the sliding door open,used a long handled device and grabbed the handbag. Simple as that. Suffice to say, the doors are much more secure now and we absolutely never take a chance by leaving them unlocked even when going to the pool. It’s a pain sometimes but well worth it. I actually always feel safer knowing that we never drop our guard. Why should your friends move? This is their home and they should not give in to the thieves.make it impossible or very difficult for them and play them at their own game. Wish them well from everyone on the forum.

Sorry to hear this and it must be very unnerving for your friends but we have property in UK and Spain and, as best we can, we are are and always have been very security aware with both.

When we bought in Spain 13 years ago I remember being 'put off'a bit by all the grills on doors and windows but then realised that in the UK we don't have the approx 9 months of warm weather that Spain has and would hardly ever have our front or back doors or windows fully open to keep cool.
It's amazing how many doors we see fully open in Spain with also an open grill.

I know this is not what happened with the OP's friends but the opportunist thieves are everywhere. I remember being advised to shut and lock grill and door and gates when even just going to the dustbin.

It's easy and cheap to fit blind locks and window locks and then with the grill it makes 3 forms of defence. Burglars need time and if a property takes longer to get into they know that they could be seen or heard and may give up.
It becomes second nature to always use all our security when going out (or in doors)in UK and Spain. We have automatic security lights on both properties too. No burglar wants to be seen or have attention drawn to themselves. So I believe these are a good thing ...prevention is better than cure.

Of course with everything we do they may still be determined to get in but most opportunists want an easy route in and out.
However most (not all) burglaries we hear about, even in the UK will have been an easy target because of the home owner not having the security his neighbours have or just through not thinking on the day or being aware when they go out ..or are upstairs (in Spain) with an unlocked grill and door downstairs.
I do feel sorry for this couple though but it can and does happen everywhere.

Here's a topic written a few years back but may help any newbies and doesn't just apply to Quesada:

safety-security-information-and-property-in-spain-hints-and-tips-f78/security-tips-for-moving-into-your-new-property-in-quesada-t1399.html

From BBC website
Bob Turney is an ex-career burglar who spent 18 years on and off in and out of prison.
Breaking and entering used to be his full time occupation.
Today he's a reformed character, and works as a probation officer.
Bob knows just how to pick a house which has low level security.

When he worked as a burglar, he'd look out for signs of easy to break into property including:
single double glazing
no alarm or security system
garden tools or wood, bricks and other objects lying around which can be used to force entry
weak and flimsy doors and windows
Bob the Burglar's top tips are simple - be sensible and security conscious. As the slogan says, 'Remove the Opportunity - Prevent the Burglary'.
At the end of the day the best chance of cracking down on burglary is to take preventative action.
Anything that forces the burglar to take more time to commit the crime, make more noise or make him look more conspicuous while committing the crime is a good starting point.

They feel they are being targeted and simply had enough,they want out of the situation ASAP.In fact both burglaries were within 5 months of each other,first was in December and then last week.

I've passed on relevant info to them....thanks everyone.

timeflies 1950 wrote:Get some dogs!!!

We had 4 dogs it didnt stop them as they beat them back with shovels.

I always lock my security gate on front door even if I am doing gardening at the rear of my place or up onp the solarium.
Why do people make it easy for burglars then moan about being robbed.

We were burgled the night before last. We live in Doña Pepa. We have grills, locked blinds and locked windows. We didn’t have a burglar alarm though (something we’ll remedy now). They gemmied out the grill, pulled the blind out of the way, smashed the window, put their hand through to unscrew the “screw in” bolts which go through the windows. Apart from a Burglar Alarm, I’m not sure what else we can do? Any suggestions would be welcome.

That’s the only thing you haven’t got ,, and if they are going to those lengths to be honest what else can you do

maria elena wrote:We were burgled the night before last. We live in Doña Pepa. We have grills, locked blinds and locked windows. We didn’t have a burglar alarm though (something we’ll remedy now). They gemmied out the grill, pulled the blind out of the way, smashed the window, put their hand through to unscrew the “screw in” bolts which go through the windows. Apart from a Burglar Alarm, I’m not sure what else we can do? Any suggestions would be welcome.

It's crazy.

We recently spent a week renting a villa near to the steakhouse,in fact near to Manuel from the tv show,we left the villa and my partner noticed a largish piece of wood painted red up against the villa wall,he removed it and put into the green bin just up the road,he was fairly convinced it could have been a sign for crooks.

My partner reckons the only way to be secure as possible....have bespoke grilles which bolt right through the wall ,the bolt/nut go through steel plate on inner wall,all bracketry to be boxed in with timber on inside.

They would need to rip down half the wall to gain access.