The Telegraph reports another inversion of the rule of law in contemporary Britain.
A gardener who fenced off his allotment patch with a single strand of barbed wire to protect it from thieves has been ordered to take it down in case intruders hurt themselves.
Bill Malcolm, 61, was told to “remove it on health and safety grounds” by the local council, which owns the allotments.
He erected the deterrent after thieves struck three times in four months, stealing more than £300 worth of spades, forks, hoes and wrecking his potato patch in the process.
But officials instructed Mr Malcolm to remove the waist-high wire from his plot at Round Hill Allotments in Marlbrook, Worcs.
He 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.
JMK
This is one of the disaster’s of the West’s move AWAY from the doctrine of “assumed risk.”
That is the legal concept that puts the onus of responsibility on the individual engaging in any action – someone tripping over a door jam or on someone’s sidewalk is responsible for their own “clumsiness” under that doctrine.
Under “Assumed Risk” only gross negligence, for instance not taking affirmative measures to alleviate an unsafe condition (for instance, a store NOT putting salt or ice-melt on a patch of black ice, caused by a drainage problem).
The stupidity of allowing criminals to sue property owners CAN BE eradicated with the simple stroke of a pen – simply remove the legal status of “citizen” from anyone “engaged in felonious activities,” that way that “thug turned victim” would have no legal standing in a court of law, on which to bring such a law suit.
GREAT post….sad, sickening story.
October 15 roundup
[…] to remove barbed wire from wall surrounding his allotment, thieves might get hurt on it and sue [Never Yet Melted, Steyn/NRO […]
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