Evidence: Exhibit 1.

Sometimes I don’t feel safe in my own home.  I’m sure it’s just my imagination.  But take today as an example.

The photograph shows berries thrown accross my drive by a gang of local kids.  But that’s the end of the story… let me start at the begining.

A couple of days ago someone played “knock and run”, rang my door bell and ran off.  Today it happened again.  This time I went outside to look around.  I found one boy, wearing a red top, hiding round the side of the house and a group of others just a little way up the road.  “Yes?  What do want?”  I asked.  Giggling they claimed the people who had knocked on my door had run off down the road.

A short time later there was more giggling outside the house.  And the boy with the red top had crossed our front lawn and was pearing through the lounge windows.  The group were standing in front of the house laughing. 
    From upstairs I called down:  “Is there a problem?”  
   “There’s a cat on the window ledge” the boy replied.
   “Yes I know”
   “He’s afraid of cats” one of the gang yelled back as the boy ran across the lawn to join them.
   “Well you can look at the cat from the pavement then.”  I said closing the window.

A short time later I noticed the group had gone.  So I went outside see what (if anything) they had been doing.  Thats when I discovered they had pulled the berries off a tree and thrown then across the drive.

I know it’s probably just childish mischief, but I still find it upsetting.  What if I hadn’t been here?  Were they knocking on the door and looking through the windows to see if the house was empty and worth breaking into?  Will they keep coming back?  Are they going to move on from throwing berries to something that can do damage?  What have I done to provoke this?