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Bouquet of barbed wire

Thursday, 9th October 2008

That old "health and safety" ogre stalking the land marches on in Worcestershire. Bromsgrove District Council has used it to force gardener Bill Malcolm to remove thief-deterring barbed wire from his council-owned allotment – in case the thieves hurt themselves.

Bill, 61, put up the waist-high single strand of wire after losing £300 worth of tools to intruders who also ruined his potato patch. The council told him it would not risk being sued by a would-be thief who injured himself on the wire.

A spokesperson said: "We are obliged to request its removal or remove it on health and safety grounds to the general public, as this is a liability issue. This is a requirement enforced by our health and safety department."

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