Odd situation, stop cock being turned off

JennBags

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I'm sitting in my lorry watching the driveway to my yard as someone has turned my water stopcock off today, not once but twice, and also taken the key away. Luckily I have a brilliant handyman who only lives round the corner who's been back to turn it on, but it is odd to say the least.

Every time a car comes down the road I scrunch down on the seat, hoping to catch them at it.

The only thing I can think is that someone has tapped into my water supply and have a problem hence turning it off. Just the once I thought it could be someone being an idiot but there was a short window of 2.5 hours this afternoon between M turning it back on and one of my friends arriving to find no water again.

I'm flummoxed and concerned by it, as well as bored sitting here waiting for something to happen!
 

little_critter

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Nothing to add (other than if it is a shared stopcock, then it would be polite of the person sharing it to say to you “hey, we have a water leak and need to turn the water off, sorry for the inconvenience”)
Just watching as keen to know what’s going on.
 

Goldenstar

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YOur water supplier will know if someone else actually shares your stopcock.

I would not rely on that ,ours denies our other house has a supply , Me pointing out the family had been paying water rates since 1963 and I could show them the stop cock in the road and the letter from 1963 with all the details still got the reply it’s not on our map it can’t exist .
The same company gave a developer next door to us a plan showing the sewer running North along the lane ,I pointed out it runs south and then turns west under the garden of another house they did not believe me until I went and turned the taps on in the house , it’s bizarre .
 
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hobo

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It may just be a mistake hopefully you will see the person and clear the matter up. They may just have their stopcocks muddled our stop cock was 3 miles from the farm by road and there were three stop cocks in the same hole so these things happen. Hope you have solved the mystery by now.
 

DizzyDoughnut

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I once turned my neighbours water off while they were mid shower, one of their pipes was leaking and flooding my flat and they didn't hear or decided to ignore me hammering on their door, well until their water suddenly stopped anyway. Could there be a leak further down somewhere that's causing an issue?
 

Cinnamontoast

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A colleague had people stealing his water, he caught them and they ran off but came back! Very odd situation. I think he can park over the access to prevent them doing it again. Can you do that? Are they on foot or coming from a vehicle? Are you sure it’s not a shared stopcock? Ours is.
 

JennBags

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I am on a country lane with only farm fields opposite me, and properties with horses each side and behind me, so it's definitely not a mistake or someone confused. The meter/stopcock is right outside my property. There is another meter there but I have checked with it's owner and he knows nothing about it. It goes directly to my land and doesn't cross anyone else's property. I'd be very surprised if someone else had tapped in as where would it go but that's the only explanation I can come up with. It's odd in the extreme.
 

JennBags

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Aww, just started reading this thread and thought we were in for an exciting night on 'stopcock watch' with you.

If it was foal watch we'd be guessing the description of the new foaly. I assume in this situation we guess the potential perpetrator. Do you have a cunning shetland?
Haha no, no Shetlands. If it gets turned off again tonight I'll camp up there tomorrow night!
 

The Fuzzy Furry

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I am on a country lane with only farm fields opposite me, and properties with horses each side and behind me, so it's definitely not a mistake or someone confused. The meter/stopcock is right outside my property. There is another meter there but I have checked with it's owner and he knows nothing about it. It goes directly to my land and doesn't cross anyone else's property. I'd be very surprised if someone else had tapped in as where would it go but that's the only explanation I can come up with. It's odd in the extreme.
Possibly school holidays boredom?
We had a spate of superglued padlocks on yard main gates in our area 2 summers ago, cameras caught 3 giggling teens. Their parents were horrified!
Am glad my stopcock is in my yard under a commercial lid (too heavy to lift for some, also covered with old hose to hide it!)
 

Keith_Beef

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I'm sitting in my lorry watching the driveway to my yard as someone has turned my water stopcock off today, not once but twice, and also taken the key away. Luckily I have a brilliant handyman who only lives round the corner who's been back to turn it on, but it is odd to say the least.

Every time a car comes down the road I scrunch down on the seat, hoping to catch them at it.

The only thing I can think is that someone has tapped into my water supply and have a problem hence turning it off. Just the once I thought it could be someone being an idiot but there was a short window of 2.5 hours this afternoon between M turning it back on and one of my friends arriving to find no water again.

I'm flummoxed and concerned by it, as well as bored sitting here waiting for something to happen!


I think you know how an electric fence works, and how you might run a bit of tape around the stop cock...
 

DirectorFury

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You could try a bit of fishing wire on/near/around the stop cock and a shotgun alarm mine (Bisley Alarm Mine 12g 12 Gauge Security Burglars Intruders Galvanized Steel Trip https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0049ACMC6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_X0W6EDM2SN86B4NREQB6 ). It also gives you the satisfaction of scaring the living daylights out of the whoever is doing it :D.

A handful of these around our boundary and garages miraculously stopped the scrap men coming up to have a nose about when we weren’t in.
 

JennBags

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You could try a bit of fishing wire on/near/around the stop cock and a shotgun alarm mine (Bisley Alarm Mine 12g 12 Gauge Security Burglars Intruders Galvanized Steel Trip https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0049ACMC6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_X0W6EDM2SN86B4NREQB6 ). It also gives you the satisfaction of scaring the living daylights out of the whoever is doing it :D.

A handful of these around our boundary and garages miraculously stopped the scrap men coming up to have a nose about when we weren’t in.

Thanks DF, these look interesting.
 

JennBags

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Possibly school holidays boredom?
We had a spate of superglued padlocks on yard main gates in our area 2 summers ago, cameras caught 3 giggling teens. Their parents were horrified!
Am glad my stopcock is in my yard under a commercial lid (too heavy to lift for some, also covered with old hose to hide it!)
Silly buggers is what I thought at first but it being turned off again in a 2.5hr window made me more suspicious. My friend did report hearing some yobbos pull up outside for a minute then driving off tyres screeching so maybe it is. As you know, when on the yard you can't see the car park and entrance easily.
 

scruffyponies

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You could try a bit of fishing wire on/near/around the stop cock and a shotgun alarm mine (Bisley Alarm Mine 12g 12 Gauge Security Burglars Intruders Galvanized Steel Trip https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0049ACMC6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_X0W6EDM2SN86B4NREQB6 ). It also gives you the satisfaction of scaring the living daylights out of the whoever is doing it :D.

A handful of these around our boundary and garages miraculously stopped the scrap men coming up to have a nose about when we weren’t in.

I am reliably informed that something similar can be 'McGyvered' using a party popper with the streamers replaced with petrol.
Very effective against two legged rats.
 

Flowerofthefen

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A number of years ago I rented a yard and paid for the water separately. The cost was minimal. Got a phone call one day to say the water bill had doubled???? Couldn't work it out until I visited yard at a difffime and found our neighbour with his hose attached to our tap to water his garden!! Cheeky git! Hope you get it resolved.
 
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