Local thieves raid InPost lockers, creating chaotic “Ferrel Advent Calendar” scene.

By Our Crime Correspondent: Hugh Dunnett

LOWESTOFT – Christmas has come early—far too early—for crooks in Lowestoft after the InPost parcel locker in the Sainsbury’s car park was found with several of its compartments forced open, earning it the now-widely adopted nickname “The Ferrel Advent Calendar.”

The incident, which police are describing as “a disappointingly on-brand bit of festive opportunism,” involved petty criminals prising open more than a dozen locker doors in what witnesses say resembled “an enthusiastic but morally questionable countdown to Christmas.”

By mid-morning, the locker stood with its doors flapping in the wind like a heavily ransacked advent calendar whose chocolates had all been scoffed by someone who couldn’t wait for December.

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According to locals, this is not the first time the unit has been tampered with. “Last year it was only two boxes. This year they’ve done half the thing in one go,” said one shopper, who likened the scene to “the aftermath of a toddler left unsupervised with a cardboard Santa.” Another resident said the name “Ferrel Advent Calendar” had “caught on quicker than a Boxing Day return queue.”

InPost confirmed the damage, stressing that security upgrades were already planned. “We do not encourage the premature opening of any compartments,” an InPost spokesperson said. “We particularly discourage the opening of compartments using crowbars.”

Suffolk Police are investigating, reviewing CCTV, and appealing for witnesses who may have seen individuals acting suspiciously “with tools, festive enthusiasm, or both.”

Sainsbury’s said it hopes to have the locker fully repaired “before anyone starts calling it the New Year’s Clearance Sale.”