Sunday, 12 January 2025

Illegal Metal Detecting in Butts Close: he got away with his lies

The scene, Butt's Close, Hitchin, North Hertfordshire

(Tony Riley FRIENDS OF BUTTS CLOSE AN OCCASIONAL NEWSLETTER June 2023)

[...] The Detectorist
Not the TV series, but a lone chancer on the Close. He had been approached, separately, by two Friends of Butts Close and he gave them lies about his having authorisation. NHC does not give permission to metal detectors on Council land, in common with almost all local authorities. I sent an email to you all on 5th May asking for any sightings. I did get a call, saw him operating myself, and called 999 to report ‘a crime in progress’. I was thanked for the information and the call was deprioritised – but the Police did contact NHC.
The Council has just two Environmental Crime Officers for the whole district, but one, David Furr, happened to be driving near the Close and advised the man that he did not have permission to operate there. He wouldn’t give his name, but he trudged off – and has not been seen since.

Metal Detecting may seem a fun and harmless hobby, and the organisations that promote it have careful Codes of Practice, but he obviously wasn’t following them. Further, he had been digging many holes to search for, identify or retrieve objects. He replaced the divots but these were not regrowing, and this was leaving shallow and potentially dangerous holes, hazards for adults and kids alike. Since he wasn’t following the Code of Practice there might also be doubt as to whether he would have reported anything relevant to the Local Finds Officer (Matthew Fittock, Verulamium Museum), which would be a loss to local archaeology. But for me there was one useful outcome. I found that there is a ‘Heritage Watch’ scheme, part of the Neighbourhood Watch initiative. I joined, and I now get regular updates from the Police on related (and alas unrelated) matters.



Hmm, so the Norgth Hertfordshire police 'watch', but don't do anything when they catch somebody acting antisocially and illegally?

No comments:

 
Creative Commons License
Ten utwór jest dostępny na licencji Creative Commons Uznanie autorstwa-Bez utworów zależnych 3.0 Unported.