Someone is knocking on doors in the middle of the night - and these Lincolnshire villagers are scared

Residents in a Lincolnshire village were left frightened after several heard knocks at their doors and someone trying their door handles in the middle of the night.
Lincolnshire Police.Lincolnshire Police.
Lincolnshire Police.

Women tucked up in their beds in the village of Leasingham were woken by the disturbances at around 3am on Monday morning.

Some reported how their dogs barked at the noise, with motion sensor lights turning on and pets acting restless and standing by their doors.

Writing on the Facebook page Leasingham Community Group, Jenny Lidsey said: “At 3am this morning somebody knocked on my door. The outside sensor light came on and the dog went berserk. By the time I had got out of bed to look light had gone off and no sign of anybody but it sure scared me. If not for the dog barking I would have thought I had dreamt it, or put it down to the wind.”

Speaking to the Standard, she added: “It was frightening as I live on my own. I found it very difficult to get back to sleep and was quite worried when I went to bed last night incase they did it again.”

Another commented that their mother was woken by three knocks to her door the same night, causing her dog to bark - while a third said they were woken by a knock and noticed their motion-senor security lights were on. A fourth said their dog ‘went beserk at 3.05am’ causing her to venture downstairs to check if anyone was there - but no-one was seen. One said they heard a ‘banging noise’ outside around the same time of night.

A similar incident was reported by another female resident a few weeks ago, after she was woken by someone trying to open her door. Commenting on Facebook, she wrote: “I heard someone trying our door handle, my dog went nuts, it really frightened me, I know someone was trying to get in.”

Earlier this month, a boy was chased by a group of people dressed as ‘killer clowns’ in the village - and now his mum is wondering if the clowns have returned to scare residents as they sleep.

Commenting on the group’s Facebook post, Katy Cookson-Price wrote: “Makes you wonder if it’s the same people messing around that scared my son.”

Others have suggested those knocking on doors could be potential burglars scouting out new targets, and knocking to see which homes don’t have dogs.

We spoke to Lincolnshire Police about the residents’ concerns. A spokesman said: “Reducing offences of burglary and taking burglars off the streets of Lincolnshire is a top priority for Lincs Police. It is particularly important in the summer months, when days are longer and warmer, to remember to keep windows and doors secure overnight, or when you are not at home.

“If you see anything suspicious, or hear anything suspicious, report it to us on 101 and we can take appropriate action, and if anything it can also help us build up any intelligence and protect other potential victims. Always use 999 in an emergency, and our call-takers will take it from there.”