Council worries burglars might be hurt

WORCESTER, England, Oct. 9 (UPI) -- An English gardener whose equipment shed was broken into three times was ordered to take down a wire fence because it might injure anyone climbing over it.

Bill Malcolm told The Daily Mail he has lost about $600 worth of equipment to thieves. He said the local council told him they were afraid of people getting hurt by his 3-foot wire fence.

"I told them to let the thief sue me so at least that way I would know who was breaking into my allotment but everything I said fell on deaf ears," he said. "It seems as though they are so wrapped up in red tape, they are unable to help me. It was just three foot high and wasn't as though I'd dug a moat filled with piranha and erected 6-foot iron railings."

Malcolm said that there have been at least 50 thefts this year in the allotments in his neighborhood. Police say they have records of only five shed burglary reports.