The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Smallholding => Techniques and skills => Topic started by: zeeteecee on June 04, 2011, 10:33:08 pm
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:-[
Hi,
a friend has 15 acres about 5 mins from her house, put on a new gate and some fencing. Someone tried to take the gate 2 days later.
Now she has had another new gate tampered with, and although the bolts are welded on they tried to take it again. Also someone has dumped a load of soil in her gateway, making access impossible.
Is this kind of thing normal? I know she is worried about turning out her horse in the field, but i suppose the 'tamperers' are only after the things they can sell.
Any suggestions or comments most welcome-it's a worry!
Z
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Is this kind of thing normal?
Well it certainly doesn't sound normal to me. I would be very worried about turning my ponies out too - wouldn't be able to sleep.
Dumping soil in gateway smacks of intimidation - is someone upset with her about something?
Sorry I can't be of any help - except validating your and her worries.
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Trying to steal gates I can see might be just petty theft but dumping that much soil at a gate smacks of interference. I wouldn't put my horse there until it's sorted out.
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Depends where you live. But the incidents could be unconnected.
We're too close to Luton and we get
1. dumping of pretty much everything - builders rubble, old furniture and garden waste
2. torching of cars: there's a spot a few hundred metres away that has a regular clientele
3. General thievery of anything that can be readily removed. Generally attributed to gypsies
If we lived more in the country I'd expect a quieter life, so as I said it depends.
Before we brought them home the bees used to be at the local apiary which is in a wood off a fairly main road. The access is shared with a timber yard which was having all sorts of stuff nicked. They installed the heaviest gates I have ever seen outside a bank. The lads rammed them with a car: no damage (car wrecked). Then they came one night with a JCB: gate remained fully functional after they tried to lift the gate and failed, eventually leaving the JCB behind.
Suspect horses are not the target, but microchip and freeze mark then and put up signs
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We're too close to Luton and we get
1. dumping of pretty much everything - builders rubble, old furniture and garden waste
2. torching of cars: there's a spot a few hundred metres away that has a regular clientele
3. General thievery of anything that can be readily removed. Generally attributed to gypsies
We're also close to urban areas, and we certainly get 1 and 3. I know of several people that have had gates. We have had stray dogs as well which I suspect have been dumped but isn't good when you have sheep and other stock. Some years ago we had our sheep deliberately let out of the field onto the road on more than one occasion. Not nice to think someone would do something as deliberate as that, which could have caused injury and suffering.
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Oh good grief, what a nightmare for all of you >:( (reminds me why I'm prepared to live somewhere I have to drive 7 miles for a loaf of bread ::)). A shotgun comes to mind.......
I think the soil sounds like intimidation too - unless these idiots are just reacting to someone 'new' in the area? Perhaps they used to use the field when they shouldn't and feel aggrieved about the new fence/gate. Someone might know - be worth getting it sorted out if she could before the horse goes out :P
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The "jobbing gardeners" are supposed to take their spoil to the digester plant which is about 8mi and then pay. Some do but a lot of leylandii never makes it. We watch for transit tippers which are the favourite for loads of earth but sofas tend to arrive in big 4wds
It doesn't help to be near the county boundary either. We're Hertfordshire but Luton is Bedfordshire and the boundary is very wiggly so the local authorities always try to pass the problem. In the big snow we found a lost dog sitting in the middle of what should have been a busy main road. It was precisely on the county boundary when we checked the maps so we had to call it in to two different police forces. He was reunited 6 hours later with a relieved owner who had been quartering the area rather than phoning the old bill.
Back on theme, round here a load of soil in a gateway means nothing. All the farmers block their field accesses with huge logs or park their subsoiler there cos gates get stolen or crashed. And the common has a ditch and bank all round it to prevent travellers moving in.
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If things like this are happening then maybe setting up CCTV is the best option to try and put thieves and other people off?
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Yes - we're thinking about setting up some CCTV. I think I will start that on another thread.
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Christmas day last year we caught a bloke in a van thieviing cut wood from our field, he had to carry it quite a way to the road and when we caught him i took a photo of his van registration and said i was going to send it to the police. He said he didn't think the field belonged to anyone so the wood must be free!!
OH had spent ages cutting up that wood. so Merry Christmas to that man who had a van load for free.
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That is another issue - townies don't understand land ownership. Quite genuinely. We have townie friends who think it's ok to take stone, wood, whatever because the field/fell doesn't belong to anyone..... ::)
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Yes - we're thinking about setting up some CCTV. I think I will start that on another thread.
the council tried that where we used to live in Herts to try to stop the travellers fly tipping (you couldnt get prosecutions as they would block both ends of the lane with their transits first so the third one could tip unwitnessed) and the travellers stole the CCTV camera (!) and put it up it on their (council run ) site to stop other travellers stealing their cock fighting birds or their stallion, the camera only stayed in place for 3 days before that happened......
Every field had boulders or tree trunks to try to stop illegal dumping of waste and loads of horses being left tethered on it or the kids trashing the crops with scrambler bikes.
I now live elsewhere!
I would suspect this soil is from a casual landscaping job, like most of the rest of flytipping it is unregistered traders operating out of transits with just mobile numbers and no waste transfer licence, taking advantage of most peoples desire for the cheapest quote no questions asked about what happens to the waste. The gates interference is attempted theft for the scrap value. Make sure one hinge is reversed so it cant be lifted off easily, padlocks not much use as they always carry bolt cutters (sometimes even circular saws) as part of their working tools. Spray paint the gate a distinctive colour to make it more identifiable if they are stopped with it.
I wouldnt keep horses anywhere away from a supervised yard or my own home. Just couldnt take the worry.
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That is another issue - townies don't understand land ownership. Quite genuinely. We have townie friends who think it's ok to take stone, wood, whatever because the field/fell doesn't belong to anyone..... ::)
Who do they think builds the walls, fences etc and how do they think we work out who's allowed to graze livestock or plough the field? I'm sure if someone removed part of their fence/wall or took their woodpile/coal etc they wouldn't be saying the same, and personally I can't see why land ownership of a country field should be viewed any differently from land ownership of a town garden. Sorry to be so forthright but the idea that someone can genuinely believe it's ok to take stuff has just got to me.
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I'm sure if someone removed part of their fence/wall or took their woodpile/coal etc they wouldn't be saying the same
Absolutely. But it's real, the total lack of comprehension about land ownership. Otherwise intelligent people. We marvel (and curse and roll our eyes at it) but keep coming across it. Even people who live in the country but have nothing to do with the land are quite clueless.
Genuine townies honestly don't realise walls/fences need mending, fields and woodland are managed. It all looks 'natural' to them, the walls were built centuries ago weren't they? It will never have crossed their minds that grazing needs organising. I think they can understand paddocks near a house, cos they're like gardens. But once you're away from buildings they really think land is owned by no-one, especially fell land. And even if they 'get' that the field is someone's, they think stones in it or fallen wood is 'free' for anyone who wants to collect it. A bit like collecting brambles from the hedgerow.....
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. A bit like collecting brambles from the hedgerow.....
They can keep their hands off mine..........all destined for the jam pan ;D
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Hi zeeteecee, my first thought is maybe someone else wants the field and is making life uncomfortable in the hope the present occupier will move on.
Piles of soil are usually put across gateways to prevent gypsies/travellers moving onto the land. It won't have travelled that far - anyone round there got a tipping trailer, or an owner of a tractor with a clearly 'turned' bit of land?
Regarding CCTV, I'm all for it. Lot's of other benefits for anyone with livestock too as it connects to the Internet so you can take a look at things no matter where you are in the world - even better, you can do it via your mobile phone.
If they can't afford the CCTV right now at least put a CCTV sign up. Needless to say screw it on firmly!
Really hope things sort themselves ok for them.
Best wishes.
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We have the same problem, all you can do is make sure you visit the land at irregular times, ask friends to use it to walk their dogs etc ask any neigbours to keep an eye on it and let the police know of your problems.