Have you ever been locked out or locked in ?

We don’t have a lock on our bathroom door anymore. My daughter has fits and nearly always had them in the bathroom which she had locked! She left home many years ago but still no lock even visitors are use to it.

Years ago whilst visiting my husband in Lagos where he was working I'd gone to visit the wife of his work colleague in the block of flats where they lived.
I got into the lift, pressed the button and the lift started to ascend, then suddenly the lights went out and the lift stopped, NEPA cut (Nigerian electricity company) a very frequent occurrence. I waited for a few minutes in case it came back on but then started to get worried. It was pitch black and the temperature was rising, no AC either now. I started banging on the doors and shouting, after about twenty minutes which felt more like twenty hours, an African voice called from somewhere above "where are you?!"
After about an hour of cranking noises and lots of voices I was eventually manually winched to the next floor. Hot, sweaty and quite upset I arrived at the friends door to be told that it happens all the time but the problem for me was that the man in charge of the lift mechanics had gone home to his village for Christmas! They'd had to smash open the control box to get at the winch. Even today I'm wary if lifts and even more so in other countries.

Can remember back in the early 90's, I dropped one of my daughters at her new University halls a day earlier than most others were arriving. I drove back home to London. There were two other students in these halls. The first time she popped downstairs, she realised she did not have the key with her to get back into her rooms, one of the other students helped her. Amazingly, later the same night, she did exactly the same thing, locking herself out and had to get the night porter to help her back in.
Like an other contributor I keep a key safe on the wall in my never locked enclosed porch.
My only way into my house. A couple of winters ago I popped out in my nighties and dressing gown to take something to the rubbish bin, cold night so meant to close the porch door behind me to keep in the warmth, but without thinking slammed the front door. Not sure what I would have done without the key safe!

My DD has excelled herself twice in this way.. The first time she decided to take a bath and entered bathroom with just the towel. She also decided to lock the door even though she lived on her own. You guessed it. Lock jammed and she had to resort to leaning out of the window to get someone’s attention, who then phoned letting agent who organised a locksmith. Second time she had a little lobby just the width of the doors. She slammed the Yale lock shut before realising she had forgotten the keys for the outer door. Fortunately she had her phone so we released her after a 45 minute drive, otherwise she would have had to hope the postman had some letters for her.

I used a loo in a hotel; the cubicle door swung shut behind me and I realised there was no lock, handle or anything to get the tightly fitting door open again - just holes in the door where they should have been! I called out, to no avail, and then tried ringing my husband who was in the lobby, but needless to say, had his phone on voicemail. I thought of ringing the reception desk but for some reason the hotel's name/number would not come up on Google. Finally I rang my daughter and instructed her not to laugh but to phone the hotel herself and ask them to come and let me out. Their comment, when I was released? 'Oh it's been like this for months'. I ask you!

I'm paranoid about keys after DH locked his keys in the car & my keys were in the house. Guess where house keys were, yes in the car (same key ring). Phone call to try & find his S, no luck. Sat on front wall, luckily a lovely warm summer evening, a neighbour went to get a bunch of keys, still no luck.

Eventually DH had a bright idea, if he climbed over garden wall he could hook the garage keys off the coffee table by the french windows, hand through cat flat & a garden cane. Keys for garage retrieved DH went for his fishing net as he could reach bottom bolts but not top ones. Guess what it worked

I never again went out without my handbag & door keys.

When I go away I always take my spare car keys, if I lock my car & open the boot separately, the boot locks automatically when you close it. I'm paranoid now. Two of my neighbours have spare keys for my house as they feed the cat when I'm away.

I had a key safe fitted next to the front door after one door-slamming event when I had just popped outside to deadhead the pansies in the window box, and had forgotten the back door was open. Should explain that back door is inaccessible because it is accessed by an up and over garage door from the back lane. Had to wait for brother to come 10 miles with spare key. The key safe was £16 and I paid a tenner to have it fitted. It has proved a great success, as visiting young people in the family can let themselves in when I'm out, or if I've gone to bed. Now I don't worry about locking myself out, and have even got a bit blasé!
Late husband had a form of dementia (PCA) which affected vision and co-ordination. He locked himself in many a loo before I finally took over and insisted we use the disabled loos. I got used to going into gents' loos calling for him and explaining as I went. Mostly, I was met with kindness by other loo users, including one young man who climbed over the door and undid the bolt.

Many years ago, whilst living in Malta, I was playing squash with a colleague when along came a security guard as part of his rounds. He had a friendly word with us, wished us a good evening and departed. Unfortunately, instead of using the handle to close the court door, he used the bolt and inadventently locked us in. It was not a pleasant or happy experience but, happily, I'm still here to tell the tale. I still remember it to this day.

I was in Sicily with my husband and we went into a part of town with very few tourist. Went in to a local restaurant for a pizza and drank the local brew while we were waiting, a whole bottle. Went to the loo and found I couldn’t unlock the door. So there I was thinking how do I say help I am locked in in Italian! I banged and shouted, no one came, after nearly 30 mins and a lot of banging on the door my dear husband, the manager and few spectators came in. No English was spoken but my husband speaks very god Italian. Anyway after a lot of discussion my husband said in English pull your ‘nickers up and stand back he is going to kick the door in. They had all heard the banging but thought it was something going on outside and my husband thought I was drunk and needed time in the loo. Still everyone clapped when I came back into the restaurant.

Some years ago we had new neighbours move into a large house across the road. They spent huge amounts of money renovating it, no expense spared. One day there was a hammering on our door - the husband had gone to the bathroom and the super duper, highly expensive lock had jammed! After he had stopped laughing my DH had to get out his ladders, climb up to the roof, crawl across to the velux window and almost carry the terrified man back to ground level.

Indeed a great fear of mine,and yes I have locked myself out of my own home,and it was not a pleasing experience.
Knowing it was only early morning and my OH would not be home until almost dark I was in a right panic.
I prowled round and around our place looking,hoping for some outlet I could use to get back in.
I realised our upstairs patio window was slightly open as it mostly was during the summertime but the problem was confounded by my fear of heights and the fact this window was on the first floor.
Yes we had a balcony and I realised I really had to find a way to reach it.
Fortunately part of the frontage was of rough hewn stone and so if I was ultra careful I should be able to gain a few footholds.
Bearing in mind my fear it was a case of must and so slowly..............very slowly and methodically,praying as I went...........I reached the parapet and could climb over onto the balcony............and through the open patio window into
a comparitive sanctuary.
NEVER again was that patio left open when I was not at home, knowing if scared old me could scale "the heights".......... it would be easy peasy for a burglar!!
A case of live and learn for sure.
Plus I was ultra careful not to have a repeat performance of shutting myself out in the first place,my nerves could never take it!

I'm getting paranoid reading your stories! And yes I've had to break a window.
When we were teenagers my sister came home very late after our curfew witlhout a key and, foolishly , rather than wake the household by ringing the doorbell, she broke a window waking and terrifying us all and the neighbours.

My small job after retirement was cleaning loos. The lights were motion activated so if you were still for too long you were plunged into darkness.
But that's not my story.
When we moved here most of the room doors had keys in the locks. DGD was about two years old and visiting for the afternoon. We were upstairs looking at Granny's pretty things when DD and I stepped out of my bedroom on to the landing. DGD closed the door behind us and turned the key. She couldn't or wouldn't turn it back again and was locked in the bedroom. We didn't want to break the door down fearing we would injure DGD. Fortunately it was summer time, and I'd left the velux window open. We didn't have a ladder, neither did our neighbours. We had to call the fire brigade, who duly arrived, climbed in through the open window and released her. I apologised for having to call them, but they said it was good practice.
I removed the keys from all the doors, except the downstairs loo!

Out on a walk with our two daughters aged 6 and 10 (then) they popped into the railway station to use the loo. We waited for them to come out but when they didn't I went in to find them.
They were both in same loo and lock on door was jammed! It was an an ordinary door not like some of them now where they could crawl out. I couldn't get it open, Dad went in to try and rescue them, then the man in the ticket office tried no luck! We even tried taking the handle off! The only window was above the railway lines so would need to stop trains! Eventually the railway man called the fire brigade but they couldn't get there for about half hour. At least the girls were in the right place if they needed a wee! By now I was passing them chocolate under the door but they were getting thirsty and upset. Dad gave the door another good shove and open says me! They were free! We apologised profusely to the railway man and made a swift exit before the fire brigade arrived leaving him to sort them out! After this the youngest daughter started giving toilets points out of ten-Harrods loos got an 11! And she got the nickname 'Jody-Loo'!!

Some years ago my porch door lock went wrong and would not open. My sons were at home but I was at work. When I got there I had to be dragged through the front window - luckily no-one took a photo! My neighbour came and used his angle grinder to take the lock off.

We have a key in a lock safe hidden in a nearby garden shed.

I went to pick something up outside the front door....the wind or one of my “helpful” toddlers shut the door. They were too short to reach the handle. It was before mobiles,of course. My battlaxe next door neighbour eventually agreed to phone my husband,who couldn’t get there for half an hour. Fortunately there was glass either side of the door so I could talk to the children. Still makes me feel sick and I am paranoid about Yale locks.

I managed to lock myself out of my house a couple of years ago. Had to go across the road to neighbours who eventually found me a lock man - cost me.
Trust me to change trousers and not empty the pockets.....

But yesterday I was in Tesco's loo in Abingdon. After a couple of minutes the light went out and I was in complete black darkness. (Shows I'm older generation, I never even THOUGHT of my phone!!!) I managed and found the loo push, and that didn't work either. Opened the door and the light was on again.
Yes I complained. But why should that happen?
I'll be a bit wary of that loo again, too.

OH and I were moving a mattress outside for the council to take away when next door neighbour returned from a dog walk, no no no says he, let me help you he put his dog inside the house and then shut the door ?I don’t know how he thought we’d get back in. His big dog is free in my living room and we 3 stood outside, it’s freezing we had no coats and slippers on. OH had to sit in the neighbours house while the neighbour took me in his car to my daughters house to get the spare keys he was mortified but luckily the dog was well behaved and lying on the rug wondering what the heck happened? we had a good laugh about it .

We were staying in an hotel in the south of France, each suite had it's own terrace and pool. DH went in to bring cold drinks and on emerging gave the patio doors a push with his elbow as he didn't want the insects to get in. Patio doors whooshed along the rail and clicked shut and locked with the room keys on the table inside. I was going nowhere in just a bathing costume, DH had swimming shorts on so had to go out the back of the hotel and round to reception and ask the manager to let him in to our room.
I always check now to see if doors are self locking before sitting out on balconies and terraces.

More than once - but not in a loo, thank goodness!

Worst was after I'd been to visit my mother in her care home on her birthday. Brother was also there, and we took her out for tea, after borrowing the CH's Blue Badge.

Then forgot to give BB back straight away - brother retrieved it from my car to give back - and then drove to his home an hour's drive away - with my car and house keys in his pocket!! Did not realise till he been gone a good half hour. Had no mobile with me so couldn't ring him.

Had to get 2 buses home, then 'break into' my own house - had left a small upper window open thank goodness so just about managed it - retrieve spare car keys, go back and retrieve car!

Brother was very apologetic! Am now paranoid about keys - always have to have keys actually in my hand when leaving the house.

First time I went out after being snowed in for 5 days I set the alarm, closed the door - no keys!! Fortunately my neighbour who has a spare key to my house was home so I was able to get back in. You may think this was just a one off - but it has happened a few times now despite my having a large note on the back of my door with the word "keys" written on it!!

I am now paranoid about getting locked out!
There was one occasion when all my spare key holders were away on holiday or wherever and Paw was in hospital in London.
I devised the most complicated hiding place for a back door key and then remembered that the only access is through the gate which is also locked.
Fortunately I never had to try it out!

Myself and my sis in law were both heavily pregnant when we got locked out of her house, we were stood just outside front door and a draft from slightly open patio window blew it shut. My young niece was inside. Only way to get to rear of house was over a six foot high fence! Luckily there were some builders working across the field beside her house so we were calling and waving to them - think they thought their luck was in until they saw our large bumps lol. Two of them came across and one climbed the fence and came through the house to let us back in.

Yes, a week ago. We did get in without calling a locksmith, but if I tell you how, I shall have to exterminate you all, as you will know all my secrets