ALLOTMENT SECURITY
Peat B
Posts: 441
We had our allotment broken into three months ago. The shed door was forced and the lock and hasp were ripped off the door to wor shed. Though this was somewhat disconcerting, only a few basic tools were taken, ie, tool boxes with favourite spanners, blades for secateurs, mole grips and the boxes them selves. It was still enough to boil my bladder !
Anyway, I improved the access to the lotty, and made the shed door more secure, and locking it with an Ikea metal bed base across the hinge bolts.
Then, a couple of nights ago, only 30 minutes after my good lady and I had been oop t'lotty for a bit of watering and nulching, no not a euphemism for ANYTHING !, a neighbour came to our door and said that our gate had been kicked in off it's hinges. I went up , not in a happy frame of mind, and sure enough, it was hanging off but still there without TOO much damage, and OK for temporary repairs.
Soon fixed with better bolts that do not have slots on the ends. Goody goody.!
Inside the shed, all was serene, but I still feel uneasy. The obviously brainless twit/twerp that had decided to do this, has apparently NO regard for the law, respect for others, and cares not one whit about the distress caused by their deeds.
The recent claims that crime rates have fallen, despite financial restrictions and cut backs, is a total dream and fabrication. They just change the rules, the categorisation of crimes and it is all smoke and mirrors
If I come across as 'angry', well you can bet your bottom dibber I am !! Gardening is an expensive hobby, making food production no any cheaper than buying in the shops, BUT it is a darned sight nicer, spiritually enhancing, and I don't feel that I should need to have to engage in a siege mentality against numpties as well as the pigeons !
How goes it out on the range for others ?
Posts
Peat, I'm so sorry this is happening to you
I am so lucky - when I had an allotment it was in a very rural village where the young people helped their families out with their lotties and there would've been trouble had any of their mates done anything like that. Also in a village like that everyone knows everyone, or at least knows their aunty, and youngsters don't get away with doing very much that's out of order. Now I have my veg patch in my garden and the only thing the youngsters do is lob the occasional football over the fence.
The thing is, I'm jumping to conclusions here - a lovely old chap who used to clean our offices had a couple of allotments and helped a friend on his as well, and used to sell his surplus produce to raise money for the local children's hospice - one year, just as his wallflowers were almost ready to dig up and plant out (and sell to us in the office) one Friday night they all disappeared! He told the local police who were sympathetic - they said that they were pretty certain that the wallflower plants would be bunched up and sold at the local car boot sale that weekend - but unless you can identify your own wallflowers there's nothing they could do!
They told him to paint all the tools in his shed in distinctive colours and mark them with his postcode with one of those special marker pens and put a notice to that effect on the door of his allotment shed - they said that the majority of garden tools that are stolen turn up in car boot sales or on ebay
After that I never buy garden plants or tools from car boots.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Sorry to hear about the break in.
I tend not to keep anything of value in my sheds and everything is stored in wooden fruit crates which can be obtained free. Most of the tools are quite old so there's no lock on the door. A lock can often invite thieves in believing there's something of value inside to steal.
I'd advise not to keep anything of value in there, if you do post code it and take the lock off the door, if they come again at least you won't have the lock and damaged door to replace and put a note on the door saying 'nothing worth stealing, you've already stolen it'!
Hi Guys, Thanks for the compassion and understanding. The PEEEculiar thing is, on the first break in, apart from the tool boxes, right there i front of the toe rag when he went in to the shed, was the hedge trimmer, strimmer, Mantis rotivator, and brand new McCulloch mower ! Untouched ! All the same, I now have them chained together and padlocked securely to the shelves unit there.
The gate incident the other neet, was just a bloody nuiscance, but new bolts have secured the hinges better. I have now learned that the culprit is known to the bobbies, but they say, with a wry smile, that they KNOW who they are, but 'NEED THE PROOF' ! It is more apathy on their part.It seems that they are more keen to get 'speeders' doing 34 mph than solvng small crime. It may be 'petty' to them, but it is our happiness to us ! We don't all have the bottomless coffer of a Monty Don to have the best equipment & etc. to have what is everyday stuff at a producers bequest.
At least, dear peeps, whoever it was, nudge nudge, wink wink, didn't trash the place, but I consider leaving a coke bottle filled with Paraquat for their delectation next time !
A friend of mine had her pots stolen from the front garden, she glued drawing pins to the rim of new pots and then got up one morning to find a broken pot on the path, the thief had come back, but left with sore fingers
Shame you can't attach to the padlock one of those capsules, which are sometimes attached to clothing in some shops. I'm told they contain a dye which if got on your hands, is impossible to get off. If the police have a suspect, the suspect would be hard pushed to say how the dye got there the day after a break in... just an idea...
hi PEAT B
I do feel for you, fill that bottle with anti freez!
I have made a wild flower communal garden here in the centre of town.
I had two shrubs in tubs either side of a tree
One went friday night the other the next.
i had grown them from cuttings, i was so angry!
Now the security to wor lotty is so good, that the other day, much to my dsmay. I locked the gate, and then saw my keys lying on the table down the path. I had to go to me mate, the bee keeper to borrow HIS keys to get back in !