Chavs: Do we have a big "COME HELP YOURSELF!" sign on our house or what?

I'm getting really sick of people (aka scrubby chavs) being on my property, vandalizing my property, and most of all, trying to get INTO my property.

My husband has lived in this house his whole life, and aside from a couple of incidents in the past where people have tried to take off with stuff from the garage, there hasn't been too much trouble. However, within the past month, we have had to ward off more chavs than I would ever like to.

Not only do they like to congregate in our back yard drinking/doing drugs/etc behind a lot of trees where they *think* we can't see them, but they really do enjoy egging our house as well.

Someone tried to break through our back door today, within the past two hours, when it was still broad daylight. Obviously they took off once they heard my husband coming through the kitchen to see what was going on. All we saw was a guy in a track suit take off over a few fences and disappear.

Monday, my husband came home to a guy at our front door, with a huge set of keys trying every one in our front door. This guy also took off over fences then across the road.

The kicker, though, was within the past 2-3 weeks. My husband came home to a guy at our back door with a crowbar, trying to pry it open. This is after the guy somehow broke through the iron gates in our driveway. The guy also had his car parked in our driveway, ready to haul away whatever he could've gotten away with. This guy, however, did not get away. My husband pinned him against the wall of our house until the cops showed up. (His mother had blocked the guys car with hers, as they were just returning from trying to visit his grandma).

The following day, our house was egged 4 times.

We also got a note through our door that said: "Because of you, one of our bruvs has been put away. You won't know when, but we're coming to wreck your house and put you and your yank missus in hospital."

The thing the creeped me out the most was how in the hell they know I'm American, because the only people I talk to in this town are my colleagues, my husband's family, and our friends. The only thing I can think of (other than it hopefully not being someone we know) is that at one point we had an American flag in the window (which we got egged for, and hasn't been up for well over a year), or because I have an Ohio license plate in our living room window. But what a large assumption to make.

The police are well aware, but that doesn't make me feel any better.

Stupid chavs...

...they also stole my husband's shopping once. All he had was bread and butter 

Oh my lord, that sounds awful! Have you bought a motion-sensitive camera for your house? Or considered getting a large, vicious-looking dog?

oh my god...how terrible...The stress must be just enormous

Have you spoken to the council about the anti-social behavior? Also did you report the note to the police?

I hope things look up for you. x

I am going to join on the oh my god reaction.  You seem to be rather calm for such a situation, way to keep your cool.  Have you thought about getting a dog, they do a wonderful job at keeping folks away and can be a great addition to the family?  I hope you stay safe!

This is really horrible! If at all possible, move. ASAP. To a neighborhood far away from those guys. If it will take you a few weeks to get into a house/flat that you want, perhaps you could stay with relatives or at a b&b and put your stuff in storage. Police really can't do much until *after* something bad happens most of the time. If you can't move, maybe you could get a big dog for protection and keep it inside the house while you are out, with signs posted on the front and back door that house is protected by dog. I'd also look into security cameras and alarms (I don't think these are as big an investment as they would've been a few years ago). I know there's not a really good option, but it's hard to fight against a situation like this. Let us know what you come up with, and good luck!

Your story has made me really scared for you! I would get out of there, ASAP, before someone gets hurt.  How horrible having to live like that.

Getting a dog I dont think would do much because they dont seem to care who or what is home when they are coming around trying to get into your house when you and your husband are there! They may even find a way to hurt the dog if you get one anyways because these scum just dont care.

Please get out of there and get yourself to a safe place!

What a horrible way to have to live.  Why do the few have to make life miserable for so many.  Do you have a security system?  If not you might like to think about installing one.
Can you talk to your neighbors and ask if they have been any problems with these guys or perhaps they might know who they are.
These types of people are uneducated, small minded and very very ignorant and probably have a real problem with anyone they feel might be in a higher social class than they are and therefore feel you are fair game.  As they know you are American they probably think you have money, that perception would come from them watching American tv and thinking all of America is just like that.  They probably hate all foreigners so another reason to target you.
Be careful they sound like a really bad bunch.

I don't have much more to add except I am sorry that you're going through this.  I've been through a similar situation (different in circumstances, similar where you feel your home isn't safe from the people who live around it), and it's not fun at all.  I hope a solution can be found.

This is horrible.  My guess is that you can't just move, and that if it is your husband's family home he probably wouldn't want to.  If it is just one group then I would hope the police and the council could help.

Vicky

Damn, that REALLY sucks. I wish I knew the right thing to say. Have you shown this note to the police and told them all that has happened besides the one guy that was caught? Maybe they would start patrolling the neighborhood better if they knew what was going on. And I would definitely think about getting a big dog to rip their faces off. 

Wow, that is terrible.  I second the recommendations to alert the council and of course keep the police apprised of any activities.  As far as your own personal safety goes, do you carry pepper spray or any other self-defense tools?  That might be a good idea while you're near your home.  Stay safe!

My goodness how absolutely horrible!!  I really hope things get better soon...My thoughts are with you

That is my worst nightmare, seriously. I feel so bad for you. SO bad. Do you know your neighbors? They can't be happy with this situation either. Are they willing to help you call the police and/or the council when they see something? I think a big, loud-mouth dog is a good idea, too, as long as he's a sweetheart. Tho, generally, it sounds like the more you defend yourself, the worse it gets. I just don't know. I'm sorry. That's just miserable.

Is it just you they are targeting, or is everyone in your neighborhood being harassed?

I'm sorry you're going through this -- it sounds awful! Be safe!

Oh my gosh! Unfortunately the CHAV culture is huge and out of control. When we lived in the UK, our town was overflowing with them, they can be really scary. So very sorry this happened to you!

Here is a story on how some people tried to tackle the problem back in the 1930's. That said, I have no idea if the CHAV culture existed back then although there were probably rough estates from the start.

http://www.eyes-and-ears.co.uk/pennine/details.asp?Title=The%20Cutteslowe%20Walls