Family threatened with eviction after putting up razor wire to protect their property

[Sparrow]

Saw this on the BBC news website :



Eviction threat over razor wire

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42860000/jpg/_42860001_razorhouse203.jpg Sandwell Homes has said the wire is too dangerous

A family has been threatened with eviction after they put up razor wire to stop vandals breaking into their property.
Judith Partridge, of West Bromwich, said she took the measure following weeks of harassment.
She said intruders had destroyed plants and pots and a bench had been dumped in a pond.
But Sandwell Council, which owns the house, has said the wire is dangerous and has to be taken down.
'Last resort'
It has written to Mrs Partridge and her disabled mother, telling them the wire must come down or they will lose their home.
It followed a complaint from a neighbour.
Mrs Partridge said: "I appreciate it isn't very nice to look at but it's a very, very last desperate resort to try and say 'keep away'. "Everything else we've tried has failed." Peter John, of Sandwell Homes, said that, while he was sympathetic, the wire was dangerous and would have to come down.

[Planet 24]

I think she has done the right thing even if she removed it now she has highlighted her plight in the press and hopefully Sandwell Homes will pay attention to her needs. Barbed wire and Razor wire is not illegal over 9 ft, but can still be deemed illegal if used over that height on council HA or privately rented homes. However, Councils continually use same on their public buildings to protect them from vandalism. So double standards there then! There is however, as far as I can see, one loophole in the law. You may use spikes to prevent pigeons on a fence as long as there is a warning sign that these are in situ. I think if Mrs Partridge has used a legality sign and perhaps sought permission from the Crime Prevention Dept. it might have been another story, but perhaps in doing as she has done, she will get the attention and duty of care she and her mother so rightly deserve.

[Noise Stopper]

This is genuinely awful that this lady has to take steps like this to protect her property, but I have to admit to a small smile at the thought of Mrs Partridge using anti pigeon technology!:) (probably going to hell for that one!)

Ian :nfh1:

[StoneHenge]

Good for her is all I can say. Let's hope it shames the council into providing some decent protection then. Honestly, can't they see it's also going to save them money in the long run too. And come on, she wants to protect her council house, she cares for it, there are a lot that don't who are proper NFh, so let's help the one who really does love her home and wants to protect it.

Shame on them!!!!

[sesentayuno]

Again, common sense out the window...the simple logic is...the wires are only dangerous to people who have been harassing her!!

Ses