Stopover location in France

[Canyon]

Hi All,

We have just booked a week+ camper trip to Dordogne end Aug. Whilst we want to prolong our holiday and are aware of the short timeframe, we know we will probs need a stop over enroute from Chunnel, especially as we have 2 kids and a dog. Could anyone recommend a decent (safe) stop over enroute?

This wil be the first trip outside of UK in our Cali, so a touch green if you will. A friend of mine took his family and motorhome to French alps a couple years ago, pulled over in a layby instead of doing the trip in a one-er. Some ********s decded to target them and gassed him and his family as they slept, they got a lot of stuff nicked as they slept off the CO. No long term health concerns, but Police were not surprised and advised it happens a lot in France.

So...... we are looking for somewhere a tad safer

Any info much appreciated

Thanks

Danny

 

[WelshGas]

The Royal College of Anaesthetists
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QUOTE
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Despite the increasing numbers of reports of people being gassed in motor-homes or commercial trucks in France, and the warning put out by the Foreign Office for travellers to be aware of this danger, this College remains of the view that this is a myth.

It is the view of the College that it would not be possible to render someone unconscious by blowing ether, chloroform or any of the currently used volatile anaesthetic agents, through the window of a motor-home without their knowledge, even if they were sleeping at the time. Ether is an extremely pungent agent and a relatively weak anaesthetic by modern standards and has a very irritant affect on the air passages, causing coughing and sometimes vomiting. It takes some time to reach unconsciousness, even if given by direct application to the face on a cloth, and the concentration needed by some sort of spray administered directly into a room would be enormous. The smell hangs around for days and would be obvious to anyone the next day. Even the more powerful modern volatile agents would need to be delivered in tankerloads of carrier gas by a large compressor. Potential agents, such as the one used by the Russians in the Moscow siege are few in number and difficult to obtain. Moreover, these drugs would be too expensive for the average thief to use.

The other important point to remember is that general anaesthetics are potentially very dangerous, which is why they are only administered in the UK by doctors who have undergone many years of postgraduate training in the subject and who remain with the unconscious patient throughout the anaesthetic. Unsupervised patients are likely to die from obstruction of the airway by their tongues falling back. In the Moscow seige approximately 20% of the people died, many probably from airway obstruction directly related to the agent used.

If there was a totally safe, odourless, potent, cheap anaesthetic agent available to thieves for this purpose it is likely the medical profession would know about it and be investigating its use in anaesthetic practice.
14 July 2014

 

[2haw]

I think it all depends how far you’re travelling in the uk before and what time you intend to depart.

We drove down to the Dordogne last year and we stopped at a campsite just north of Poitiers called Le Futuriste. Was ok for the night but I’m pretty sure it cost us about 45 euros..

 

[2haw]

What’s your plans in the Dordogne?
We loved Camping Le Capeyrou last year.

 

[Ch1pbutty]

Hi All,

We have just booked a week+ camper trip to Dordogne end Aug. Whilst we want to prolong our holiday and are aware of the short timeframe, we know we will probs need a stop over enroute from Chunnel, especially as we have 2 kids and a dog. Could anyone recommend a decent (safe) stop over enroute?

This wil be the first trip outside of UK in our Cali, so a touch green if you will. A friend of mine took his family and motorhome to French alps a couple years ago, pulled over in a layby instead of doing the trip in a one-er. Some ********s decded to target them and gassed him and his family as they slept, they got a lot of stuff nicked as they slept off the CO. No long term health concerns, but Police were not surprised and advised it happens a lot in France.

So...... we are looking for somewhere a tad safer

Any info much appreciated

Thanks

Danny

For a quick overnighter, just sleep in the Peage Service stations. It’s free, and has CCTV everywhere so not great for thieves.

We used to book sites for the journey down but due to the ferry times would always arrive outside of usual hours (ie 1am) & so would end up sleeping by the entrance of the site...so above worked out quite well for us.

 

[CaliforniaBen]

Our neighbours got gassed in a layby in the Champagne region last year, the criminals however got disturbed by the owners of the Motorhome parked next door and were caught by the police, it turned out to be an Eastern European gang

 

[blakeley]

Brit family gassed and robbed in camper van during holiday in France

A HOLIDAYING family were gassed in their camper van by thieves who ransacked it while they were knocked out. Perry Hudson, his partner Kim Heighway and their three children were targeted at the end…

www.thesun.co.uk

 

[Louis II]

My wife freqently complains about being gassed in the night.

 

[Jay20cali]

Try to grab a copy of all the aires book...
Shows all the aires in towns city’s ect ect
An aire is an overnight stopping place for motorhome or campervans .like a carpark with different and sometimes no amenities

 

[Romke]

...gassed him and his family as they slept, they got a lot of stuff nicked as they slept off the CO. No long term health concerns, but Police were not surprised and advised it happens a lot in France.

If this happens "a lot" in France please explain why we don't read anything about this in the French media. Show me the source of that police comment. If you can't I'll consider this story just another insurance scam.

 

[Romke]

The Royal College of Anaesthetists
=====
QUOTE
=====

I don't always agree with WelshGas but as our annual mythbuster he's always spot-on!

 

[larrylamb]

Hi All,

We have just booked a week+ camper trip to Dordogne end Aug. Whilst we want to prolong our holiday and are aware of the short timeframe, we know we will probs need a stop over enroute from Chunnel, especially as we have 2 kids and a dog. Could anyone recommend a decent (safe) stop over enroute?

This wil be the first trip outside of UK in our Cali, so a touch green if you will. A friend of mine took his family and motorhome to French alps a couple years ago, pulled over in a layby instead of doing the trip in a one-er. Some ********s decded to target them and gassed him and his family as they slept, they got a lot of stuff nicked as they slept off the CO. No long term health concerns, but Police were not surprised and advised it happens a lot in France.

So...... we are looking for somewhere a tad safer

Any info much appreciated

Thanks

Danny

Buy the "Searchforsites" app for about a fiver. Lists all types of stopovers throughout the UK and Europe.

 

[Canyon]

If this happens "a lot" in France please explain why we don't read anything about this in the French media. Show me the source of that police comment. If you can't I'll consider this story just another insurance scam.

So just to clarify, yourself and WG are suggesting I or he is BSing. Well that’s nice. I’ll see if my mate can dig out the report. They borrowed a van from another friend of mine for two weeks and this happened on first evening. The stuff that got nicked was my mates hold-all with clothes abs some other sing so in the long run he only had limited amount of clothes, which was more amusing but the fact he his wife and 2 kids had someone in and about them shook them up. For the rest of holiday he barricaded stuff in front of door and slept with a bat by his bed. I, nor they have any reason to lie... so feel free to keep your opinion to yourself before accusing my mates of lying..

 

[Canyon]

What’s your plans in the Dordogne?
We loved Camping Le Capeyrou last year.

We staying at a place recommended to us... funnily enough by the guy who lent out his Motorhome that got robbed.. (or didn’t for the tinfoil hat brigade)
Camping DuPort. I shall pop the place you recommend down on list though, thanks

 

[WelshGas]

So just to clarify, yourself and WG are suggesting I or he is BSing. Well that’s nice. I’ll see if my mate can dig out the report. They borrowed a van from another friend of mine for two weeks and this happened on first evening. The stuff that got nicked was my mates hold-all with clothes abs some other sing so in the long run he only had limited amount of clothes, which was more amusing but the fact he his wife and 2 kids had someone in and about them shook them up. For the rest of holiday he barricaded stuff in front of door and slept with a bat by his bed. I, nor they have any reason to lie... so feel free to keep your opinion to yourself before accusing my mates of lying..

After 30+ years ansesthetising patients I have a little knowledge of these things.
An agent that can knock out a group of people of varying ages, sizes and health with no after effects just doesn't exist.
It's not me who is bull***ing.

 

[Romke]

So just to clarify, yourself and WG are suggesting I or he is BSing.

WG is a career anaesthetist who knows what he's talking about and I live in France and read what's going on here. There are hundreds of thousands of people roaming around this country in their camping cars and vans and nobody gets gassed. And even if someone tried to do that WG says it doesn't work. No BS!

 

[Canyon]

After 30+ years ansesthetising patients I have a little knowledge of these things.
An agent that can knock out a group of people of varying ages, sizes and health with no after effects just doesn't exist.
It's not me who is bull***ing.

No one said you were BSing, but you are calling me and my mates liars. I say again, thanks v much. I know f**k all about gas, but I do know my mates were robbed whilst they slept. I know they slept a looong time (over 12hours) and all cupboards were open, bag missing and door fucked when they woke... I know they aren’t lying and I know I’m not lying, again no reason to.

 

[kp64zl]

Les Marguerites camping, Le Crotoy was very pleasant- a bit off route thiugh

 

[Canyon]

WG is a career anaesthetist who knows what he's talking about and I live in France and read what's going on here. There are hundreds of thousands of people roaming around this country in their camping cars and vans and nobody gets gassed. And even if someone tried to do that WG says it doesn't work. No BS!

It must be amazing to have this all seeing eye that keeps track of the hundreds of thousands of Motorhomes in such a vast country.... lol.

 

[GSX1300R]

Oh no not the old Gas you in your Motorhome thing again....It has been proved this is just a myth...To gas a whole family with people of all ages would take a top anaesthetist and even then it is very likely that at least one person would die...If this were true can anyone on here name someone who has died because they were gassed by robbers in there motorhome? One of the reasons that Dentists don’t use gas as an anesthetiser is was because people had actually died and that’s with a qualified anaesthetist. These procedures will only be done in hospitals..

 

[Ch1pbutty]

My wife freqently complains about being gassed in the night.

I just blame the Dog...

 

[WelshGas]

No one said you were BSing, but you are calling me and my mates liars. I say again, thanks v much. I know f**k all about gas, but I do know my mates were robbed whilst they slept. I know they slept a looong time (over 12hours) and all cupboards were open, bag missing and door fucked when they woke... I know they aren’t lying and I know I’m not lying, again no reason to.

No one's denying they weren't robbed while they slept.
But they were Not gassed while they slept. Otherwise half of them would be dead if not in hospital.
They just slept soundly after an exhausting day and possibly a little vino and are too embarrassed to admit it.

 

[Canyon]

No one's denying they weren't robbed while they slept.
But they were Not gassed while they slept. Otherwise half of them would be dead if not in hospital.
They just slept soundly after an exhausting day and possibly a little vino and are too embarrassed to admit it.

pretty bad parents too if their 11/8yr olds are drinking. Having never been robbed in a Motorhome, I’d like to think you’d wake up if someone was to jimmy the lock and walk around the Motorhome..

Just as an aside, what about the Chadwick case where they were given blood tests which highlighted CO poisoning? Or does that come from wine too?

I should put a wee disclaimer here.. I’d rather gassing not be possible and deep sleep be the answer. Either way, the risk of robbery either through sleep/gas is the same. We have a dog so should push would be robbers to alternative easier targets. Having now done a wee bit of research I can see this is a looong going argument... essentially pick a side and hang on tight. Awaiting any info from my mate and family.... in the meantime, To suggest that someone just slept through is absolutely plausible, however to instantly assume that someone’s close friends are insurance fraudsters is f**kin ridiculous, and anyone doing that needs to give their head a shake, clearly some social skill issues.

 

[WelshGas]

pretty bad parents too if their 11/8yr olds are drinking. Having never been robbed in a Motorhome, I’d like to think you’d wake up if someone was to jimmy the lock and walk around the Motorhome..

Just as an aside, what about the Chadwick case where they were given blood tests which highlighted CO poisoning? Or does that come from wine too?

I should put a wee disclaimer here.. I’d rather gassing not be possible and deep sleep be the answer. Either way, the risk of robbery either through sleep/gas is the same. We have a dog so should push would be robbers to alternative easier targets. Having now done a wee bit of research I can see this is a looong going argument... essentially pick a side and hang on tight. Awaiting any info from my mate and family.... in the meantime, To suggest that someone just slept through is absolutely plausible, however to instantly assume that someone’s close friends are insurance fraudsters is f**kin ridiculous, and anyone doing that needs to give their head a shake, clearly some social skill issues.

You don't awake from Carbon Monoxide poisoning with no ill effects, you would wake up in hospital. Just facts.

 

[GSX1300R]

You don't awake from Carbon Monoxide poisoning with no ill effects, you would wake up in hospital. Just facts.

Actually you have a MUCH greater chance of NOT waking up at all with Carbon Monoxide poisoning... Why do we have Carbon Monoxide detectors in our houses if you have a gas or solid fuel appliance.....Because it’s so so dangerous.. These ridiculous stories just keep raising their ugly heads and it needs to be stopped.....My son in laws father believes all this rubbish and he now won’t go anywhere worrying about being gassed or having an immigrant hide in a cupboard or under the van...