Bill Malcolm has grown potatoes, onions, asparagus and other veggies in his garden in Marlbrook, Worcestershire, for eight years. Unfortunately, in the past four months he has been burgled three times. Thieves stole £300 worth of garden tools. (That’s not weight, that’s British currency.)
So Mr. Malcolm erected a wire fence with a row or two of barbed wire on top. To discourage thievery.
A professional thief could make short order of the fence. But our English gardener figured that it wasn’t the pros who had stolen from him. So he proceeded.
And then came the Bromsgrove district council, which ordered the gardener to take down his fence … or have it be taken down by force of law.
Why?
The local government was afraid it might get sued by a thief who scratched himself on the barbs of the wire.
The fact that the thief would have been in the wrong, for trespass and for intent to steal, that didn’t matter to the council. They were only afraid of being sued.
They gave friendly advice to Bill Malcolm: Not to leave his tools at his garden, in the shed, but to take them home with him.
If you think this is idiotic, I haven’t told you the punch line. That same government, a few weeks before, said not to lock sheds, in case burglars damaged them while breaking in.
It’s nice to know what government is for, eh? That is, insanity.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.