Are Me'al Detektin' iz a Right, Innit!

[Photo by Stuart Nye, Google Earth]

 The artefact hunters up north are in a right tizzy:  James Tapper, 'Will they fight them on the beaches? Anger as Cleethorpes hits detectorists with £100 fines Lincolnshire locals are up in arms at an ‘illogical’ order by the council...' Guardian Sat 22 Apr 2023 (totally inappropriate headline, by the way).

The vast sands of Cleethorpes beach can stretch into the horizon at low tide, revealing all kinds of interesting things previously hidden by the sea. It’s the perfect spot for metal detectorists to discover artefacts such as musket balls and ancient coins among the marine debris.

Yet the local authority has introduced a ban with the threat of £100 fines for anyone using a metal detector in the area, causing uproar among local people who have combed the beach for decades.

Now the National Council for Metal Detecting says it is considering taking legal action against North East Lincolnshire council to overturn the ban [...] the National Council for Metal Detecting now has 30,000 members. Alan Tamblyn, its general secretary, said the council’s actions were “very misguided and very ill-judged and can’t be justified”. “We are certainly considering challenging this in the high court,” he said. “If they came up with a reason for doing this we’d accept it, but they haven’t.”.

Nice of them, eh? They'll agree if the LANDOWNER can justify why Baz Thugwit can't walk all over the place digging holes and taking stuff away - like, um, historical "musket balls and ancient coins" from the property.

"Legal action" eh? We'd love to see that come to court, exposing the metal detectorists greed and feelings of entitlement.

But... I may be wrong, but this may well be the first time that the NCMD has actually revealed their membership numbers. So, if the PAS asserts there are 40k artefact hunters in the UK, about a quarter of them are not NCMD members. So who are they insured with?

Interestingly, the NCMD have been accused by the local council of not being aware of the existing policies already in place for some years and trolling them by reminding them of the words of their own Code: Cleethorpes and the new PSPO for parks, open spaces and the beach 4:25 pm, Friday, 21st April 2023

Many of the restrictions detailed in the PSPO have been in place for many years and were covered by byelaws that are difficult to enforce. The new PSPO gives a fresh approach to enable the Council to enforce against the activities listed, many of which were already not permitted. For example, metal detecting has not been allowed in the area’s parks and open spaces for decades and has never been permitted on Cleethorpes beach and coastline as it’s part of the SSSI.[...] The Council are aware that in some circumstances individuals and groups may wish to undertake metal detection as part of a clearly defined archaeological or educational project and consequently the PSPO allows for metal detecting if prior approval has been granted. Under exceptional circumstances, prior approval might be granted to allow metal detecting as part of non-archaeological activities – for example, to locate underground services or for the recovery of lost personal objects. Officers are in the process of liaising with Natural England to ensure they are completely clear about how and in what circumstances prior permission can be given to bring metal detectors onto the coastline and beach area.

Once again, the ranting metal detectorists have shown themselves up for what they are. Irresponsible and not very bright of them.

And there's a change.org petition... do read their justification, playing the victim, mental health, picking up the scrap metal (shopping trolleys etc.), the usual range of arguments (oh, they forgot the 'not in it fer money', a little bit difficult to believe in the case of beach detecting that regularly finds jewellery and coins lost in the sand. 1,912 have signed.

hat tip: Dave Coward