have you ever run into trouble?

[Ninja Kitten]

There was that nasty faceplant incident that Medic Nelly patched you up with too. I forgot my Sprained ankle at Cardington too that was and still is painful to this day

bless good ole Nelly for his doctor skills! and ouch...ankles ...thats a bugger..really stops you.

 

[the|td4]

Well some of the vets may remember this story (it was a previous writeup on a previous forum) so apologies if you do.

Does the armed response unit count? Me and my urbex buddy got mobbed by a platoon of glock wielding firearms officers and a helicopter once when we were mistaken for armed suspects.

To be fair, they were looking for two blokes (poachers) dressed in camo with a 4x4 and we were, well, you can figure it out.

It was a case of mistaken identity and the real suspects were found as we were being questioned but for a moment there it really did look like we were going down to the cells for the duration. It didn't help matters that my mate had a pocket of "crow bangers" (country folks will know what those are) and the back of the 4x4 was full of spent shotgun casings and a machete (a country boy can survive!) but we got let off (even if they did nick my machete).

Of course I've fallen through floors, got stuck under fences, bogged the 4x4 down on private land but it's all in a days work ;-)

 

[PaulPowers]

I've walked around a corner in a drain straight into UU workers.

They looked pretty shocked as I walked past

 

[Trees]

I've fallen off a few walls and drawn blood on broken glass or screws a couple of times... For some reason people tend to expect me to go first! Bumped into a few smackheads and pikeys, but to be honest most have been pretty friendly

 

[Landsker]

The main "trouble" I have run into mainly seems to be angry farmers, recently we did get stopped by the police who to be fair were freindly. I did run into some air gun wielding chavs once though!

 

[ljarrald]

trees, did they know you had an expensive camera on you though? smackheads and pikeys are usually all right... until they realise you have something valuable.

 

[krela]

trees, did they know you had an expensive camera on you though? smackheads and pikeys are usually all right... until they realise you have something valuable.

Really? Do you actually have any evidence for this?

Addicts usually go in for 'victimless' crimes like house burglary rather than face to face mugging.

 

[FFerret]

Others on this forum who were with our group are too ashamed to come forward and admit to this, so i will tell you our tale.

A group of us were exploring an abandond but still MOD owned site in East Anglia, we were spotted by a chap walking his dog along the beach, he called the Coastguard.

Those of us who saw Captain Pugwash (Coastguard) pull up next to our cars thought b@&&@$"?, and returned to our cars only to apprehended and asked to wait for the Police to arrive, we could have done a runner, but that would have left the cars belonging to the rest of the group being left there.and they were still roaming around on the site. We blagged and bluffed until they had rounded us all up and the police arrived, they took our names and addresses, and made a phone call......whoever they called couldnt be bothered to deal with about 8 people from 4 counties, we were let off with a warning.

We even invited the policemen to drop by our campsite for a beer tyhat evening but they were too busy.

 

[ljarrald]

Really? Do you actually have any evidence for this?

Addicts usually go in for 'victimless' crimes like house burglary rather than face to face mugging.

yeah, i do.
also, since when has house burglary been 'victimless'

as far as i was aware, victimless crime was when there is no victim, like driving uninsured.

 

[krela]

yeah, i do.
also, since when has house burglary been 'victimless'

as far as i was aware, victimless crime was when there is no victim, like driving uninsured.

You do? Please share then, because otherwise you appear to be spouting unsubstantiated opinion about a group of people you actually know nothing about.

I work in the addiction field, specifically in harm reduction so have a bit of a clue what I'm talking about. Muggings, particularly those of urban explorers are few and far between and do not tend to be carried out by addicts. In fact I'm yet to hear of anyone having anything stolen from them in the course of an explore in the just under 10 years I've been around. In my significant experience both addicts and pikeys (who are very different groups of people so cannot be lumped together) would generally prefer to be left alone, which is far from being 'menacing'.

There is no such thing as a victimless crime, hence the fact I put it in quotes and I was actually referring to the face to face aspect and the fact that generally people have contents insurance. Driving uninsured is far from victimless itself, in fact it makes every single insured driver a victim through increased premiums, and I'm sure those who uninsured drivers crash into feel like victims too.

 

[ljarrald]

You do? Please share then, because otherwise you appear to be spouting unsubstantiated opinion about a group of people you actually know nothing about.

I work in the addiction field, specifically in harm reduction so have a bit of a clue what I'm talking about. Muggings, particularly those of urban explorers are few and far between and do not tend to be carried out by addicts. In fact I'm yet to hear of anyone having anything stolen from them in the course of an explore in the just under 10 years I've been around. In my significant experience both addicts and pikeys (who are very different groups of people so cannot be lumped together) would generally prefer to be left alone, which is far from being 'menacing'.

There is no such thing as a victimless crime, hence the fact I put it in quotes and I was actually referring to the face to face aspect and the fact that generally people have contents insurance. Driving uninsured is far from victimless itself, in fact it makes every single insured driver a victim through increased premiums, and I'm sure those who uninsured drivers crash into feel like victims too.

i have seen people i used to go to school with become addicted to various drugs and they have mugged people to pay for them. all of them bar one also lived in squats. i was simply putting two and two together.

 

[krela]

Mugging is a pre-meditated and planned attack on a targeted usually vulnerable individual, in places with good escape routes. Urban explorers do not fit this category, nor does the location. If you stumble on someone in an abandoned building their first response is likely to be 'oh ****, what do they want?' rather than 'what have they got on them that we can steal?' To spontaneously mug you would be far too risky, they may try and scare you away sure, I've experienced that myself, but like I said earlier, they've got as much right to be there as you have, and if anything it's their turf, you have a nice shiny home to go to, they most probably don't, it might actually BE there home.

Squatting is an organised act of inhabiting an empty residential property, you really don't want to go crashing into one of those with a camera, if you do then you get what you deserve frankly. The type of addict who shoots up in a truly derelict building is usually homeless, sleeping rough, and using the derelict building as a place of safety to shoot up without hassle from the outside world, they do not want to be disturbed and will more often than not be a lot more scared of you than you are of them, that is why they are there in the first place, to get away from you.

The vast majority of risk can be easily avoided by not doing anything alone. By doing it alone you put yourself in the vulnerable looking category, and make the risk greater, just like you would walking down dark alleys late at night on your own. It's not difficult, it's simple common sense.

 

[ljarrald]

mugging is not always pre planned. i had my bike mugged from me when i was nine years old by a group of teenagers coming home from school in broad daylight on a street that had other people on. i cycled past them and heard one say to the other
"shall we?" and then before i knew it i was on the ground and they were all running off laughing with my bike.

perhaps the vast majority of muggings are pre planned, but not all of them. there are a lot of people in this world, there is always a chance that anyone could do anything.

but i was just asking out of interest, not to start an argument.

i know it is simple common sense to not explore alone. that is why i always explore with other people.

 

[UEP-Wales]

i know it is simple common sense to not explore alone. that is why i always explore with other people.

I explore alone...sort of anyway. Sure I have "lookouts" and use radio communications but I enter the buildings alone, not had anything MAJOR happen, one minor drug user situation a week or two ago but that was dealt with quickly and I have actually now been back to the site and spent some time talking to him.

Going in groups or even pairs is not always a good idea, 2 sets of walking noise, 2 sets of camera shutters / flashes / tripod sounds and when you are in groups, you will more than likely talk.

Ok from a safety point, going with somebody / people will always be a better idea but do enough planning and it shouldn't matter.

Krela is right though, mugging is a pre-meditated attacking method. It may seem like your attack wasn't planned but the same group probably done it before, were out planning to do it or even woke up and planned it. The second they said "Shall we" that was pre-meditated.

I was once walking around Bute Park in Cardiff, next to the castle in fact. CCTV everywhere. Group of 5 youths came up to me and asked me for the time, instant reaction, got the phone out and told them to it. Next you know, I am put to the floor and my phone is gone. Now all of the youths looked at each other when I got my phone out, all of them took the decision to take my phone.

Squatters can be ok at times. Sure, go storming the place and yes you deserve a good kick in - if you know they were in there anyway.
I have been to a few places where squatters have been, I knew they were there so knocked and asked their permission. Most of them are actually decent people that have just taken a bad turn in life at some point.
I have contracts not to show the photographs online / press but I have photographed buildings where the Occupy Protesters have claimed as squats, these people believe it or not are actually on the Anti Terror watch list with the Met Police and from what I saw, many of the homeless were taking part in these protests. All of them were harmless and actually polite. (that I met anyway).

In most cases people will react to what you act like. For example, the other day I was at my playground (The Billy Banks Estate) fire engines everywhere and in the middle of it all, metal thieves. Im taking photographs in a building, they come in. This could have gone very bad but what did I do? "Alright mate? Just taking some photographs, just ignore im here and stay safe." Their reply, "Ah nice one and you to - these are well dangerous."
Now that could have gone very different if I started to reach for a maglite, radio, phone etc. Although I do agree that in some situations there are sometimes no other options other than to run or get offensive.

 

[krela]

mugging is not always pre planned. i had my bike mugged from me when i was nine years old by a group of teenagers coming home from school in broad daylight on a street that had other people on. i cycled past them and heard one say to the other
"shall we?" and then before i knew it i was on the ground and they were all running off laughing with my bike.

perhaps the vast majority of muggings are pre planned, but not all of them. there are a lot of people in this world, there is always a chance that anyone could do anything.

but i was just asking out of interest, not to start an argument.

i know it is simple common sense to not explore alone. that is why i always explore with other people.

The example you just gave is pre-meditated, they were out looking for trouble and you happened to be the vulnerable person they were looking for. Even opportunist crime is pre-meditated, they are looking for opportunities and if you give it to them they will take it. People in derelict buildings generally aren't looking for opportunities they are there for other reasons. But still the fact remains that if you don't give people unnecessary opportunities then there's nothing to be scared of.

You're right though there are no absolutes in anything, ever. Maybe there is a chance of someone nicking your kit in a derelict building, but it's significantly more likely to be stolen in the street or from your car IMO. My point is that metal miners and addicts are no MORE likely to mug you in a derelict building than anywhere else, and if anything it's probably LESS likely because of the type of person who inhabits derelict buildings and why they're there.

Life is for living, there's no reason to be scared, but there's also no reason to take unnecessary risks either. Urbex-SW is spot on too, generally you get what you give. It's all about respect. Like I've said before, they have as much right to BE THERE as we do, even if you don't agree with what they're there for.

 

[ljarrald]

yeah, you're both right. i know a few squatters. they are all decent people.

unfortunately, the example Urbex-SW gave us about the phone happens all to commonly.

although i've never run into anyone else in a building, i always remind myself that if we do bump into anyone to just be friendly, explain why we're here, explain we're not a threat and stuff.

i have spent a couple of nights in an abandoned building with someone before in an old hotel in a room with a locked door. although i wouldn't hurt anyone (unless i had no choice at all) i think if i heard someone come in and get near to us i'd probably shout and make myself sound aggressive to try and scare them off. after all, I don't know who is on the other side of the door. it could be a harmless homeless person or it could be a couple of 'chavs' wanting to destroy the place. i'd rather not take any chances.
--------------------------------------

when you enter a building, is it silently, or do you make it known? usually for me i enter quietly and try to stay quiet whilst we roughly check the place out, then i get my camera out. but a couple of times in buildings where there may of been people in, i have shouted something along the lines of
"hello, anybody here? we come in peace"
kind of thing, if we got a reply i doubt we'd go in. but i've never gotten a reply or bumped into anyone yet.

 

[mookster]

Enter quietly, once we establish there is nobody in our vicinity we relax.

 

[possessed]

Well, if we're talking trouble...
my absolute worst incidents in my approximately 18 months of urbexing have been getting a nail in my foot, which isn't as painful as it sounds, but still wasn't a lot of fun, and occasionally entering a building first in my group and hearing pikies upstairs. Not to mention being mugged by violent and dangerous pigeons and having to find excuses for the pigeon crap and dust on my clothes when I returned to home/ sixth form college back in the day before I told my family etc.

 

[ljarrald]

Well, if we're talking trouble...
my absolute worst incidents in my approximately 18 months of urbexing have been getting a nail in my foot, which isn't as painful as it sounds, but still wasn't a lot of fun, and occasionally entering a building first in my group and hearing pikies upstairs. Not to mention being mugged by violent and dangerous pigeons and having to find excuses for the pigeon crap and dust on my clothes when I returned to home/ sixth form college back in the day before I told my family etc.

i know how that feels i stepped on a nail whilst dis assembling a shed last week. it going in and coming out didn't really hurt, it was the fact that i couldn't walk for three days afterwards

i once jumped from a wall down and landed on a nail. that hurt!

 

[krela]

Proper puncture resistant workboots ftw.