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uk Personal safety & immediate danger

What to do if…
someone repeatedly puts notes or objects under your home or hotel door

Produced and maintained by PanicStation.org Published: Last reviewed: Editorial policy UK guide

Short answer

Stay behind the locked door, move away from the doorway, and do not confront anyone. Call 999 if someone is trying to enter, anyone is in immediate danger, a serious offence is in progress or has just happened, or an item or threat creates an immediate hazard; otherwise contact hotel staff or the police on 101.

Do not do these things

  • Do not open the door to investigate or because a note tells you to.
  • Do not confront, follow, search for, or arrange to meet the person you suspect.
  • Do not reply to the notes or confirm that you are alone.
  • Do not open, unwrap, smell, taste, plug in, or activate an unfamiliar object.
  • Do not touch an item that is leaking, hot, wired, powdery, giving off an unusual smell, or accompanied by a threat.
  • Do not discard, clean, or alter notes or ordinary objects while it is safe to leave them where they are.
  • Do not delay contacting help while trying to collect evidence.
  • Do not post your room number, exact location, movements, or photographs showing where you are.

What to do now

  1. Move away from the doorway. Lock the door and use any fitted latch or chain. Keep your phone, keys, identification, shoes, and essential medication with you.
  2. Call 999 if someone is trying to enter, you or another person is in immediate danger, a serious offence is in progress or has just happened, or an item or threat creates an immediate hazard. Give your exact address or the hotel name and room number, then follow the call handler’s instructions.
  3. Treat an item as potentially suspicious if it has wires, batteries, tape, leaking liquid, powder, an unusual substance or smell, heat, or a written threat. Do not touch it. Move away, keep other people back, and call 999 from a safe distance.
  4. At a hotel, call reception or security using the room phone or a number from the hotel’s official website or your booking confirmation. Ask whether hotel staff left the item, request that unknown visitors be kept away, and ask whether you should move to a staffed area or another room.
  5. Do not open the hotel door to someone claiming to be a staff member until reception has independently confirmed who they are.
  6. At home, contact a trusted person and ask them to stay on the phone with you. You can also alert a trusted neighbour, concierge, landlord, or building manager and ask them not to disclose whether you are home or share information about your movements.
  7. If there is no immediate danger, call the police on 101 or use your local police force’s online reporting service. You do not need to identify the person or collect evidence before reporting what has happened.
  8. If it is safe, photograph the doorway, note, or object from where you are without approaching it. Record the date, time, location, wording of any note, what the object looked like, and the names of any witnesses.
  9. Keep previous notes, photographs, messages, packaging, and a brief record of each incident. Do not pick up an item solely to preserve it; ask the police or hotel security how it should be handled.

What can wait

You do not need to decide who is responsible, why they are doing it, or what legal label applies. Replying to the sender, making a public post, buying security equipment, ending your trip, moving home permanently, making a formal complaint, or taking longer-term legal action can wait until you are safe and have support.

Important reassurance

There may be an innocent explanation for an individual note or object, but repeated unwanted incidents can reasonably make you feel unsafe. You do not need to prove the sender’s intentions or identify them before contacting hotel staff, the police, or a specialist support service. This is not your fault.

Scope note

This guide covers immediate safety, reporting, and record-keeping steps only. Later decisions may require help from the police, hotel management, a housing provider, a specialist stalking service, or a qualified security or legal professional.

Important note

This is general personal-safety information, not legal or professional security advice. Follow instructions from the emergency services and use the safest available option for your circumstances.

Additional Resources

Closely connected guides that may be useful during the same situation or its immediate aftermath.

About this guide

This guide was produced and is maintained by PanicStation.org using its published editorial process. Official and specialist sources are checked where relevant, and AI-assisted tools may be used for drafting, organisation, and consistency checks. The site operator remains responsible for publication, revision, and removal decisions.

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