The Mondeo that cried Wolf.

There's an interesting little social experiment going on in my street at the moment. For the past four days, a smart looking Ford Mondeo has had a faulty burglar alarm. It's being going off about three or four times a day, often in the middle of the night. It's also one of those particularly annyoing alarms that cycles through various sirens, so you can't tune it out. The interesting thing is that the owner is clearly away, so nothing's being done about it - leaving the neighbours nothing to do but vent their frustrations on the car. On the second day, a note appeared under the windscreen wipers, beginning with a plantive 'Dude - sort your alarm out.' The next day, I saw a fifty-something woman leave a much stroppier note, including the words 'How much longer must we put up with this?', and threatening to call the police. Yesterday, after it had gone off for ten minutes in the middle of the night, it had had an egg thrown at the driver's door. And this morning, the damage has begun. The boot has been dented, the rear bumper kicked until it cracked. When I returned this afternoon, nail polish remover had been poured on the paintwork, and a sign glued to the windscreen reading 'FIX YOUR FUCKING ALARM!' And now, perhaps angered by this treatment, the car has gone properly haywire, playing its alarm for a minute or two every fifteen minutes. If I know the people on this street (And of course, living in London, I don't) they will not stand for this. I expect Lord of the Flies style anarchy to break out at any moment...

On the plus side, it certainly hasn't been stolen.