BREAKING: Tailgating warning after ‘ex-prisoner’ found ‘squatting’ in Cryfield accommodation

Community Safety has issued a warning over unauthorised entry to accommodations after an intruder was found to have been ‘squatting’ in a Cryfield Standard storeroom.

Reportedly discovered on Saturday evening (22 November), students in Cryfield Standard 2 said they had found items including a prison ID card, a duvet, and food waste in a second-floor luggage room.

Photographs seen by The Boar show discarded razors and cigarettes scattered on the floor, as well as the ID card.

The safety of the students living here and our Warwick community is our top priority, and Warwickshire Police have informed us that the person is not a danger to others

University spokesperson

The University has since confirmed to The Boar that an intruder did gain access to Cryfield Standard 2. They stressed: “The safety of the students living here and our Warwick community is our top priority, and Warwickshire Police have informed us that the person is not a danger to others.

“Our Community Safety Team have checked the premises and are working closely with Warwickshire Police, who are actively managing the situation.”

Students told The Boar that Community Safety had conducted several searches of Cryfield 2’s storerooms, including one made at 4am on Sunday 23 November which woke up residents.

As of Sunday evening, one CS2 student said they had been informed by Community Safety that the intruder had not yet been found. They added that staff had told them the intruder was an ex-prisoner, with likely no other identification other than the discarded prison ID.

Notices have since been posted in the accommodation warning students to report anyone suspicious or seen tailgating to Community Safety.

One student claimed that fridges had been raided ‘over the week’

A University spokesperson told The Boar: “We are also asking students to be aware of tailgating in and out of buildings they access with their ID cards.

“If you see anything suspicious, do let our Community Safety Team know on +44 (0)24 7652 2083 (non-emergency) or +44 (0)24 7652 2222 (emergency).”

They also directed any students worried or upset over the incident to contact the Wellbeing and Student Support team. “Please don’t hesitate to contact the Wellbeing and Student Support team through our Wellbeing Portal (or by calling +44 (0)24 765 75570), or speak to your personal tutor.”

It is not known how long the intruder may have been accessing the Cryfield 2 block, though one student claimed that fridges had been raided “over the week”.

There have further been suggestions that the intruder attempted to communicate with some students by slipping notes under their doors, asking for items including shower gel, food, and cigarettes. The Boar has seen a photo of one of these alleged notes, though its authenticity cannot be proven.

Matt, a first year Theatre and Performance Studies student, said he had encountered the intruder on Saturday evening while collecting his washing.

He said he had encountered a man “attempting to get into the building by propping the door open with something”.

“I didn’t think anything of it at the time, assuming it was just someone off campus meeting a friend, so I casually used my keycard to let us both in.”

He continued: “And turns out there’s a high chance that was the intruder, which I obviously had no idea about when it was happening.” He said that the man’s appearance matched that of the face on the ID card.

Matt said that the man’s presence had “confused” him as he had never seen the intruder before. He relayed that when Community Safety had arrived later to act on their report, they didn’t come for “quite a while”, and that “they weren’t here for very long”.

He said he thought they hadn’t looked very thoroughly at the time, and didn’t know if they had looked upstairs, where the intruder’s belongings were found.