"News Groups" ? wrote:

"Tom Woods" wrote:
Ive recently had trouble with people (kids as far as i know) coming
into my back garden and causing trouble. My house backs onto a council
garage area and my drive (to the rear) is currently open to the road
and the rest of the garden only had a 3 foot wall round it.

I have now just about finished enlarging the wall to 6 foot and am
about to make some big gates.

If i wanted to put something sharp spikey and painful on the top of my
wall or gates where do i stand? Are there any legalities involved in
this?

I dont want to get in trouble because some little scrote cut his hands
open trying to climb over my wall.

Can I just do as i like?

"Protecting against Trespassers. Traditionally owners have put deterrents
to trespassers on their wall or fence and if it is a party wall just on
their side. You will often have seen spikes or broken glass or barbed wire
on the top of walls. However, if the wall/fence borders the public
highway, then the local authority has powers to protect the public by
having the deterrent removed if it thinks it could cause a danger to
highway users. If the deterrents causes a nuisance or by your negligence
injures a passer by, then they may be able to sue you. Err on the side of
caution because if the deterrent is considered to be excessive you could
open yourself up to a
criminal prosecution for an injury caused." Source:
http://www.gardenlaw.co.uk/walls.html. Also ask in uk.legal.

10 years ago, when I lodged with someone on a council estate, the local plod
advised him that some carpet gripper strip (the pointy metal ones) nailed
along the top of the fence might be helpful. It worked. Along with the
barbed wire and broken milk bottles in the hedge. It wasn't a dangerous
estate, in fact most people were quite nice. But there were a *lot* of
pikey kids.

Cheers

Tim