Chilling 'phrogging' act explained as man found living in pensioner's house for years
What would you do if you found someone secretly living in your loft? It sounds pretty far-fetched to most of us, but sadly this horrifying reality is much more common than you might think, and it's called phrogging.
A simple search on social media reveals dozens of people who've gone through the spine-tingling experience of finding someone living hidden in their homes, including a number of celebs like Jennifer Lopez, Brad Pitt and George Michael.
Back in 2004, the Wham! frontman had a crazed fan living in his home for four days while he was also in the house. The woman was hidden beneath his floorboards and the singer only became aware of her presence when he heard his name being called from beneath him.
Much closer to home, this month one woman in Manchester has shared the time when her 73-year-old nana discovered a mystery lodger had been living above her for months.
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Taking to TikTok, @bashhh27 explained how her nana Maggie lived alone and worked long hours at the local supermarket, rarely taking a day off unless she was severely unwell.
The first sign that something was amiss came when Maggie noticed that whole portions of the meals she had prepared for the week were going missing from her fridge - and there seemed to be no plausible explanation for the culinary disappearance.
Things took a turn one day when Maggie was really unwell and was unable to go into work. While she was recovering, someone rang her house phone at 2pm in the afternoon and asked to speak to someone named Paddy.
The grandmother told the woman on the other end of the phone she must have the wrong number - but the mystery caller revealed she rings that number everyday and speaks to Paddy, and could even verify the address of the house.
With alarm bells ringing, several days later, Maggie was in shock to discover that after 14 hours out of the house at work, when she returned home, her kettle was still hot as if someone had only just made a coffee.
Realising someone must be in her home, Maggie went upstairs and found that a plug socket beneath her loft hatch had been broken and there was a black footprint on her wall, suggesting the unwanted mystery guest had left it until the very last minute to make themselves a cuppa before heading back up the loft.
The grandmother called her daughters, who quickly came round to the house and went up to the loft, where they found all the labelled dishes that had contained the meals that had gone missing from Maggie's fridge, along with stolen cutlery and mugs - but no one was there.
The police came to investigate and it was discovered that the person had cut a small hole in the loft door to spy on Maggie and make sure the coast was clear before entering her home.
Sadly, he was never caught.
What is phrogging?
Despite sounding like it should exist only in horror movies, phrogging is a real phenomenon in which a person secretly lives in someone else's home, without the resident's knowledge or permission.
The name comes from the idea of the perpetrator 'leaping' from house to house like a frog.
It usually involves a phrogger entering a home or building through stealth, via a window, an unlocked door or the loft.
Phroggers can live in people's homes undetected for days, weeks and sometimes even months at a time, and will often sneak into other parts of the building while the occupiers are out, stealing food and using their devices.
Is phrogging illegal?
The act of phrogging itself isn't a crime in itself, but it usually involves a number of crimes, like trespassing, unlawful entry and burglary, to name a few.
In England and Wales, intentionally entering and living in a residential building without permission is a crime known as the 'squatting offence' under section 144 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act of 2012.
Emma Rosemurgey