"I STOOD guard outside my children's door with a heavy vase."
Those were the words of a Tuffley mother who suffered a terrifying ordeal during an attempted burglary on Wednesday night.
It followed a spate of incidents in the area, with police warning people to keep windows and doors shut, despite the warmer weather.
Hayley Johnson, who lives near The Gladiator Pub in Tuffley Lane, said: "I was awoken by someone trying to get in through my front door with a lot of force. I stood guard outside my children's door with a heavy vase and my phone talking to the police. They had tried to get into my neighbours', too."
She added: "I've lived in Tuffley a long time and do not find the area rough in the slightest. This is the first crime-related issue I have had. There's not any area safe from crime, I'm afraid, as sadly there's dirty scumbags everywhere."
Hayley was alerting people on Facebook page 'Spotted: Gloucester' to crimes, and Gemma Cresswell, who lives near The Gladiator pub, said she, too, had been affected.
She said: "Someone came into my garden at 2am and walked up my path. I heard rustling about for 10 minutes and was too afraid to look out of my bedroom window. Scary."
One anonymous person said: "I live in Tuffley. At 3am, someone tried to break into my house. The window was cracked open a tiny bit – not noticeable unless you were right next to it. They put their hand through the window and pulled the blind back. My partner made a noise and startled them and they withdrew it. I know it's hot, but people will find those windows that are only slightly open and use it as an advantage."
Police received two reports of suspicious activity in Tuffley in the early hours of Thursday. One was in Tuffley Lane, while the other was in Tolsey Gardens.
Officers searched the areas, but no one was found. No homes were broken into in either incident.
A spokesman for Gloucester police said: "In both of these instances, the homeowner did exactly the right thing by calling us.
"So far this month we have seen an increase in the number of burglaries in the Tuffley and Grange areas – from three last year to eight this year.
"The areas are regularly patrolled and any incidents reported are thoroughly investigated, but we would also like to remind the community that in this hot weather they should ensure that windows and doors are kept shut and locked when a room is unoccupied.
"If you are suspicious of any activity at all, please call 101. We would much rather be called to something that turns out to be legitimate than to miss an opportunity to prevent a crime or catch a thief."
