Gardener ordered to take down barbed wire fence ‘in case thieves hurt themselves on it’

DAILYMAIL
Thursday, October 9, 2008

A gardener has been ordered by council chiefs to remove three foot high barbed wire ringing his allotment – in case thieves scratch themselves climbing over it.

Bill Malcolm, 61, took the drastic step of installing the wire in a bid to prevent burglars raiding his tool shed and ransacking his vegetable plots.

Intruders have struck three times in four months, stealing more than £300 worth of hardware, including spades, forks and hoes as well as destroying his potato patch.

The fed-up gardener surrounded his 600 square yard site in Worcester with a single strand of barbed wire, which stood no more than waist high.

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But his local council declared the security measure was a health and safety hazard and warned him they would forcibly remove it if he refused.

Bill said: ‘It’s an absolutely ridiculous situation, all I wanted was to protect my property but the wire had to go in case a thief scratched himself.

‘The council said they were unhappy about the precautions I had made but my response was to tell them that only someone climbing over on to my allotment could possibly hurt themselves.

‘They shouldn’t be trespassing in the first place but the council apologised and said they didn’t want to be sued by a wounded thief.

‘I told them to let the thief sue me so at least that way I would know who was breaking into my allotment but everything I said fell on deaf ears.’

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