horses in my field

[Luci07]

Actually I don't think OP would be liable if she let the horses out - seem to remember that the liability always lies with the owner which is why I have insurance but of course not suggesting this.

I think the idea of blocking the entrance is a good one. Would also have NO hesitation in taking the horses back to his..you are doing a good deed and retuning them! And cover the field in slurry. Also agree that you do need to keep a legal record as well..

 

[Clava]

Actually I don't think OP would be liable if she let the horses out - seem to remember that the liability always lies with the owner which is why I have insurance but of course not suggesting this.

I think the idea of blocking the entrance is a good one. Would also have NO hesitation in taking the horses back to his..you are doing a good deed and retuning them! And cover the field in slurry. Also agree that you do need to keep a legal record as well..

I think to release any animal which could then cause a serious accident would be negligent.

 

[sadiedeb]

surely if you have the legal title and deeds and he has cut the padlocks that is criminal damage and he is trespassing therefore the police have to deal with?

 

[Capriole]

I'm not sure you can trespass on your own land (given you haven't rented it out).

its not, but the going on his land to put them in their stables is

 

[sadiedeb]

do you have a horse liaison office with the police as they might be more on your side than a normal bobby on the beat
Maybe contact horsewatch for advice as they may have other people that have had same problem and be able to help?

 

[s4sugar]

its not, but the going on his land to put them in their stables is

But just pushing them through his gate onto his front garden isn't.

 

[Mancha]

Could you not have some silage bales piled in the gateway or something?! That is what we had to do to stop travellers moving onto land at an old yard of mine.

 

[VoR]

surely if you have the legal title and deeds and he has cut the padlocks that is criminal damage and he is trespassing therefore the police have to deal with?

NO, NO, NO, trespass is Civil AND let's say PC goes and arrests this person for Damage, takes him to the Police Station for questioning;

PC - 'Mr x did you cut off and remove the padlocks'
Mr x- 'No I didn't, there were no padlocks'
Solicitor - 'Officer do you have any witnesses or have you found the padlocks in my clients possession'
PC - 'No'
Solicitor - 'Do you have ANY evidence that there were padlocks on the gate and if there were that my client illegally damaged and then removed them?'
PC - 'No'

End of story and a waste of police time, or perhaps you'd have them do a full search of Mr x's property and scour the ditches, rivers, lakes, etc in the area?

 

[noodle_]

id be borrowing a nasty bull and some cows......

or plough the field as someone else has suggested.......

 

[s4sugar]

Put some cheap bike lock on the gates next time the horses are out.
Take photos and go to the police station with the pictures.
If the horses reappear you have proof of locks.

 

[Capriole]

But just pushing them through his gate onto his front garden isn't.

no its not, i dint say it was. i was just clarifiying that the police hadnt told the OP that OP would be tresspassing on OPS own land

 

[Tinsel Trouble]

...... or plough the field as someone else has suggested.......

Sorry _noodle...

lots of people have suggested ploughing the field. You have to make sure you are allowed to do this. If the field has been down to grass for over 5 years and you are claiming SPS on the land then you are unable to proceed with this action.

Also ploughing is a great thing to do when you're preparing the land for crops, but I am on fen soil and if that is ploughed, harrowed, drilled and rolled twice the ground is still not as substantial as the permanent pasture (the structure of the soil changes). Personally I would remove the gates to make a point and stick something infront of them. Send the guy a formal letter and get a solicitor to write to him. If Farmwatch, or the Neighbourhood Watch is unwilling to do anything to help legal action is your only option!

 

[noodle_]

Sorry _noodle...

lots of people have suggested ploughing the field. You have to make sure you are allowed to do this. If the field has been down to grass for over 5 years and you are claiming SPS on the land then you are unable to proceed with this action.

Also ploughing is a great thing to do when you're preparing the land for crops, but I am on fen soil and if that is ploughed, harrowed, drilled and rolled twice the ground is still not as substantial as the permanent pasture (the structure of the soil changes). Personally I would remove the gates to make a point and stick something infront of them. Send the guy a formal letter and get a solicitor to write to him. If Farmwatch, or the Neighbourhood Watch is unwilling to do anything to help legal action is your only option!

ahh ok i know nothing about farming!

i still stand by the bull and cows thing

or bails etc in front of the fence?

cant believe people would be so cheeky?!!

 

[smiles24]

Hi

My suggestion to you would be wait till his horses are off then re padlock your gates and gets several tons of earth delivered blocking your entrance. Cheap and cheerful but a bugger to remove without heavy machinery so should keep them out. Just make sure the gate it's stopped from opening with the earth.

I found earth was great because you can't tie ropes around it and drag it out of the way. If he then breaks your fencing to gain access it takes longer and more likely to catch him at it hence getting you your proof.

Put a sign up stating private property, no access without owner being present. Then he can't say you said he could and make sure you take photos of everything you do including pics of his horses on your land.

I also found that asking a few local farmers if they wanted to park large trailers etc up against my gate worked too. I found people don't tend to mess about when big machinery is involved as I think it's a good visual deterrent.

Good luck. Hx

 

[Tinsel Trouble]

ahh ok i know nothing about farming!

i still stand by the bull and cows thing

or bails etc in front of the fence?

cant believe people would be so cheeky?!!

Sorry- didn't mean to pick on you!

Agree with a barricade! Do you need any help?! I can bring a placard....

 

[FairyLights]

Put some cheap bike lock on the gates next time the horses are out.
Take photos and go to the police station with the pictures.
If the horses reappear you have proof of locks.

take the photo with a copy of the days newspaper with the date clearly visible.

 

[tristar]

park your car on his driveway, get into his house, under the pretence of a discussion,walk around as if you own the place, put the heating on on full blast, have a bath, cook yourself some food, put on the tele, and refuse to move till bedtime, then say 'how do you like it mate!' no need to be nasty!!!

but seriously why should the onus be on you to move him on,? his horses are crxpping on your field, and destroying the value of your next years hay crop, which can be a fair sum of money, confrontation is the only thing people like him understand, tell him straight to get off, then tell him what will happen if he does'nt, so at least he can be worrying about it

 

[pembs]

lol i shouldnt think he would let me in his house but what an idea i am going to look into bulls etc but the only thing is i know i wouldnt let his horses out but i have no idea if he will let any stock i put into the field out..... i may have to just try though, I think if he has no choice then he can find somewhere new/sell the gg's then he wont bring them back -its just breaking the cycle. feelling a little more optimistic after all your advice though

 

[rockysmum]

Personally I would remove the gates and fence the gate holes with barbed wire. Quite a lot of strands very securely nailed to the gate posts.

This will make it damm near impossible for him to get in without bolt cutters and with no way to secure the horses in if he does manage it.

Its cheap, your field is even more secure and wont be that difficult to remove when you want the hay crop off it.

As someone said photograph it with a newspaper, the police might not act if he breaks in once, but if he does it a few times they might.

 

[Foxhunter49]

Remove the gate and a large section of fencing so it is not safe for the horses.

 

[Luci07]

I think to release any animal which could then cause a serious accident would be negligent.

Negligent,yes, abhorrent,yes, legally liable? Don't bet on it. If my horses were let out onto a road and caused an accident, I as the owner am completely liable as they are my property. The fact that the accident would have been caused by another persons actions would not prevent the owner being liable.

But just to emphasis AGAIN!!!! I was NOT suggesting she let the horses out!

 

[PeterNatt]

You need to contact one of the folowing companies who will evict the person concerned:

Shergroup Security - Tracy Wright Tel: 0845 890 9200 or 07747 772 318

or

www.grcgroup.co.uk

 

[Honey08]

Personally I would remove the gates and fence the gate holes with barbed wire. Quite a lot of strands very securely nailed to the gate posts.

This will make it damm near impossible for him to get in without bolt cutters and with no way to secure the horses in if he does manage it.

Its cheap, your field is even more secure and wont be that difficult to remove when you want the hay crop off it.

As someone said photograph it with a newspaper, the police might not act if he breaks in once, but if he does it a few times they might.

If he cut a padlock off a few strands of wire won't stop him...

I would tip a load of earth/haylage bales/hardcore in front of the gateway and leave it there for at least the winter.

Cheeky beggar though! Some people have no shame. I also liked the idea of taking the horses back to his cottages and putting them loose in his gardens. Let his land get trashed. You don't want to get into a battle really, just get the matter over with as soon as you can, so blocking him out probably the way forward.

 

[Echo Bravo]

Isn't there a Bailiff service on here not long ago that will take the horses, you have to pay, and they take them owners not about and they have to pay to get them back. But just get some one to put a load of hardcore in front of gate with or with out the horses in there, also is there a water trough in the field if so turn water off and block the access to the tap. Hell if we cann't keep these sort of people off our properties means anyone can dump their animals on and we have no say.

 

[indi4]

Some of the farmers round me have had problems with gypsies putting their horses in there fields, in the end they dumped a load of soil in front of the gate so they couldn't get in.

 

[Stinkbomb]

Cutting off the locks is Criminal Damage and therefore a criminal matter, taking said locks away is probably theft, a criminal matter, however, there is the small matter of proof! You don't have the locks, presumably noone saw this person cut them off, any solicitor worth his salt would have him out of the police-station in the blink of an eye with no charges. We can all get emotive about it but that is probably why the police won't investigate this.
If you planted stuff and it had been taken, that'd be theft, grass is a naturally occuring thing, so can't be stolen regardless of whether it is for hay, if this was the case letting your horse have a mouthful of grass from a verge would be theft. If it was baled, then yes it could be stolen.
The trespass element is civil.
As an opening gambit, get a solicitor to write to this person stating that the land is legally yours, he has no right to keep animals on it and requesting that they be removed within x-days or legal proceedings will be undertaken.
Given that the law is an ass be careful about taking direct action as you'd probably end up in the 'hot water'.

Couldnt have said it better myself!!!!

And to those who say let the horses out, shame on you!! If they went and caused an accident and killed someone you would be liable!!! This could be someones life we are talking about here!!

 

[HarlequinSeren]

I vote for removing the gate and tipping earth/rubble in the gateway. Not easy to move without machinery so I doubt he would bother.

 

[JANANI]

What about catching his horses and dumping them in his garden. Keep doing it until his garden is trashed and he gets the message.

Or remove them and put a bull in the field. Preferrably a real grumpy one

 

[noodle_]

Sorry- didn't mean to pick on you!

Agree with a barricade! Do you need any help?! I can bring a placard....

no no i didnt see it like that

lol im up for helping with the barricade tho!!........ will bring shovel and tea???



im still voting for a grumpy bull tho..........................

 

[becca1305]

what an arse! perhaps the slurry option is a good idea if you can't plow? though personally I'd opt for the removing the horses from your land and ushering them into his front garden approach (if garden secure).

PS. want to borrow my GSD for a house call ? she's the soppiest mutt in the world but for some reason people just don't like her coming near them barking her greetings . My fake *cough* useless, guard dog!