Tree theft

[Meadowcopse]

An eye catching forum post title, but working in Scotland for a couple of weeks and browsing the BBC regional news pages:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-13792051

A nursery has had a couple of thousand native braodleaf trees stolen, are there no bounds to the range of rural crime?

[happybonzo]

Perhaps this post should have been headed as "Rural Crime". The Police rarely seem to take rural crime very seriously.

I know of Farmers who were asked why they left £80k worth of tractor in a field and not return it to a locked shed at night.

The average Policeman sems to have little grasp of the subject.

[Meadowcopse]

Farmers Weekly recently launched a rural crime register:

http://www.fwi.co.uk/Articles/2011/06/10/127257/Farmers-Weekly-launches-Crime-Register.htm

but it needs people to contribute incidents to make it effective.

Here in Cheshire the Police have a weekly update and rural presence.

http://www.cheshire.police.uk/news--appeals/latest-news/2011/06/13-western-rural-weekly-update.aspx

[docsquid]

When we planted our roadside hedge we had 24 trees stolen along with canes and guards. Planting our 4500 trees this winter, 21 were stolen along with canes and guards, and the fence was cut and a fence post stolen in order to get access. 8 further trees were pulled out of our new hedge, but some were discarded in the adjacent field. A school in a nearby village also reported theft of newly-planted trees. These were all reported, but I am not sure whether they are investigated or possible links explored. I suspect rogue "gardeners" offering cut price hedges to unsuspecting members of the public!

[Meadowcopse]

Launched this week - Forestry Commission Wales have a guide regarding woodland crime:

http://www.forestry.gov.uk/pdf/FCW442-A-guide-to-dealing-with-woodland-crime0_5.pdf/$FILE/FCW442-A-guide-to-dealing-with-woodland-crime0_5.pdf

[jillybean]

Unfortunately that welsh guide is totally useless. we need more than patronising "Blue Peter" style advise. 'If you see a crime being committed, call the police.' Duh!

[woodbodger]

If you want a reality check, we had friends who had a farm, Thieves, yobs, Vandals, Sorry misguided youngsters, stole a car drove it around terrorising the neighbourhood and then left it in my friends field. Police appreciated being shown the burnt out wreck, did nothing other than writing a report and because it was on his land my friend had to pay to have the wreck removed. The next time it happened, I phoned him up, he came around with his tractor, dragged the smouldering wreck onto the public road and then when the police arrived the next day they had it removed at public expense!

[happybonzo]

I've just seen these little gems. The write up says that they can be filled with non toxic paint or liquid. If they were filled with pepper or marker dye they might be an interesting item to add to Alarm mines...

http://www.store.justpaintball.co.uk/grenades-etc/h18-landmine.html

[Toby Allen]

Why pepper?

[Meadowcopse]

Being as the paintball 'landmines' use a small CO2 tube, watch out if you use it in your newly accredited Carbon Capture Woodland... ;-)