A woman is urging people to “please be safe” after a common mistake saw her front door smashed and a treasured bag stolen.
A Londoner called Ayamé shared a video on TikTok, which garnered 249,000 views, showing how a seemingly harmless habit made her flat an easy target for burglars.
The clip shows her boarded-up doorway and captures the shock of processing a break-in that happened while she was out.
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The content creator said: “PSA to all my divas – lock your doors and don’t leave your keys in your doors.
“My house was broken into last night.”
She wasn’t home during the break-in, adding: “thankfully, I am safe… they didn’t do anything creepy, I hope” – but the damage was clear when she returned.
Burglars had targeted the glass panel near her front door lock.
Ayamé said: “They essentially, with this door, made a hole here with a screwdriver, broke the glass, and then there was a key in here, which they put their hand in, unlocked.
“I left my key in the door thinking, oh, if the key is in the door, they can’t get in from the other side – they can.
“They just break the window.
“Don’t leave your key in the doors.
“Lock your doors.”
Ayamé is now “going through the five stages of grief” after the thieves took her vintage denim Louis Vuitton bag – a 2006 piece she had wanted for years and finally managed to buy for herself, as reported by Need To Know.
She said: “I’ve been crying… what are you gonna do with a 2006 vintage Louis Vuitton denim bag?”
Following the incident, police advised her to keep lights on when she’s out to make it look like someone is home, and to install cameras.
She added: “I’m about to spy (on) my home, I’m getting cameras on every inch of this property because I’ve never felt more violated.”
Ayamé’s warning comes at a crucial time, as police frequently caution that burglaries tend to rise during the darker months and especially around Christmas, when homes are full of gifts and residents are often out.
Hidden camera experts at Online Spy Shop say the “holiday period can be a prosperous time for opportunistic thieves, catching people as their guard is slightly lowered”.
With Christmas fast approaching, Brits are urged to take extra security measures to protect their homes, offering not just peace of mind but also saving money and stress later on.
Simple habits like double-checking that doors and windows are fully locked at night, keeping valuables out of sight from the street, and making sure a property never looks obviously empty can make a real difference.
