[garinda]

Mani made a point about bogus callers, just a note of caution.

Last month, after a sleeplees night, I was still in bed when my doorbell rang at nine am. I struggled downstairs, still half asleep. There was a man there who said he'd come to change the gas meter, I let him in. He asked if I had any other gas fittings on, or pilot lights lit. I told him the central heating boiler was in the cupboard in the bathroom. He asked me to go and turn it off.

When I came down the front door was open and he had diasappeared. I started to panic. How could I have been so stupid? He had showed me no i-d, wasn't even in a uniform, and I'd left him in my house whilst I was upstairs.

Getting more and more stressed, I was flapping about outside, still in my dressing gown, when who should walk round the corner but the man with the new gas meter.

I had a lucky escape this time, and won't do it again. Nor will I think, when I read about an old person being tricked into letting someone into their home, well they knew the rules- so did I.

Neighbourliness is good, but don't let anyone into your home you don't know, and leave them unattended like this plonker did.