Masked men filmed peering through letterbox at 3.30am

Two masked men were filmed shining a phone light through a letterbox on Clarendon Drive at 3:30am on Saturday morning, apparently recording the inside of the house. They didn’t try to force the door. They just wanted to look.

It’s the third time this year Thamesfield police have warned residents about someone trying to work out if a home is empty before they act on it.

Three tricks, one question

In May, it was fake locksmith stickers left on doors, marking homes out for someone to come back to later. Then, in July, a fake water-board caller talked his way to a Chelverton Road door: the second such warning this year. Now it’s two men in balaclavas, filming through a letterbox in the small hours.

PCSO Eva Knedlova of the Thamesfield Safer Neighbourhood Team has sent the alert for all three. No suspects have been identified in any of them. Three different methods, but the same question sits behind each one: is anyone home?

Met Police’s own guidance is blunt about why that question matters. Burglars are very aware of the times when someone is expected to be away from their house, including the school run and holidays. With the school holidays under way, Putney front doors are getting a lot attention.

Knedlova’s advice on the letterbox incident was specific: keep house keys, car keys and valuables out of sight of the door, and if your letterbox has an internal cage, cover it with fabric so nobody can see, or film, through it.

Before you go away

Whether or not these three incidents turn out to be connected, the same five checks will make any home a harder target while you’re not in it.

1. Keep keys and valuables out of sight of doors and letterboxes. Hide spare keys properly, never under a mat, in a planter, or through a letterbox, and keep car keys, jewellery and cash away from anywhere visible or reachable from outside.
2. Verify anyone who knocks before you let them in. Ask for ID, then call the organisation back using a number from the phone book or its official website, never a number the caller gives you. A genuine official won’t object to you booking a time when someone else can be there too.
3. Don’t advertise that you’re away. Save the holiday photos for when you’re back, keep social media on friends-only while you travel, and don’t discuss dates where a stranger, including an unexpected caller, might overhear.
4. Make the house look lived-in. Timer switches for lights and a radio, a neighbour taking in post and moving the bins on collection day, and someone parking on the drive occasionally if you have one.
5. Lock down the physical perimeter. All doors and windows, including sheds, garages and side gates, and put ladders and tools away so they can’t be used against you. A monitored alarm is worth considering if you don’t already have one.

If you’ve seen anything similar (a fake caller, a marked door, or someone paying unusual attention to a letterbox), report it to police on 101, or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. In an emergency, call 999. You can also sign up to MetEngage to get alerts directly.

Have you noticed anything like this on your street this year? Get in touch.