Metal detectors trespassing

[Kidds]

Penny coins are made of steel these days. A detector is normally set so it doesn't detect steel so they won't work.
Our modern day coins are made of such rubbish metal that in not many years they won't look any different than a rotten old washer.
I have found coins from Elizabeth the First that look almost new, I have found decimal coins that are almost unrecognisable as coins.

 

[Markcawley]

It's a massive shame that the minority ruin such a fantastic hobby for the majority. As a member of NCMD we have a very comprehensive Code of Conduct for detecting on private permission land. The best course of action if you do give permission is to sign a contract which the detectorist provides...... of which a template is available on the NCMD website that the detectorist keeps on their person while present on the permissions land...... anyone detecting on that land must have the contract and be able to show it on request...... if they don't then they have no right to be there. Our hobby is kept alive purely through the good will of you the farmers. Countless items of great historical value have been found and viewed in museums by millions across the globe because of your good will........ it makes respectable and responsible detectorist's really angry that a very small minority threaten that good will.

 

[Farmer Roy]

not metal detecting, but people chasing wild pigs are a big issue re trespassing here. Police are helpless / useless in the matter, besides being too far away or no one on duty etc etc

I have a friend who has an aviation company. They used to do aerial ag spraying / fert spreading etc, but in the last few years they have really expanded into the aerial water bombing of forest fires, even doing work in Indonesia. Anyway, years ago when they were still farming his father caught some blokes trespassing ( he was a big fella ) & gave them a good talking to "look, we have guns & aircraft - we could drop you out at sea & no one would ever find you" Apparently they never came back

not so good if you are outnumbered though, I don't know what you do then . . .

 

[caveman]

Must be business opportunity here.
Anybody want to buy a tonne of shot to mix with their fert?

 

[Pond digger]

We had huge problems on some land we had in Wakefield. Some depressions in the field had been filled with household ashes from the bins about 100 years ago and then soiled over. Local bottle diggers walk over land looking for evidence of old bottles and following internet exposure we had diggers from all over the country digging up our crop. One Sunday morning there were over 50 men some of whom threatened me. A call to the police was useless being told it was a civil matter as it was on private land. This continued over several years with us totally helpless to stop it. The first year it happened part of it was in set aside and so I informed the RPA of a third party destroying the green cover. There was no sympathy there either I was told I had to measure all the holes and remove it from my claim thus costing us the corresponding arable subsidy too. The mess they made left the field looking like a WW2 bomb site. The matter only came to a conclusion when these people realised they had exhausted all the bottles. We have been told that some of the bottles that have been found were worth hundreds of pounds but it cost us a fortune.

But they were clearly causing criminal damage!! The police needed a good arse kicking.

 

[Adam@Rumen]

About time trespassing was made a criminal offence.

 

[Storeman]

As I understand it, if someone is on private property and they are told to leave which they refuse to do, or they leave then return, they are then committing aggravated trespass which is a criminal offence.

 

[Danllan]

Trespass isn't and shouldn't be a criminal offence, if it were to be then getting lost or going over a hedge into a neighbour's field for a lamb - without specific permission - would be criminal acts, which would be daft. However...

In Wales and England, if anyone comes on to your land prepared and equipped to do metal detecting without your permission, they are committing an offence (s. 25 Theft Act = going equipped to steal). As soon as there is a spade in the ground or a crop trodden on / interfered with, they are committing an offence (s. 68 (1) CJPO Act = aggravated trespass), and the same section covers any word or act that intimidates you. The preceding can be used to successfully prosecute, I have done it and seen it done a number of times. Get video evidence if possible, stay calm and don't be rude; state that the law is being broken and that action will follow.

The police have an absolute duty to take action to prevent criminal offences taking place and to ensure that any perpetrators are brought to justice. If they don't do so you can sue them and, if you are right, you will win. The police must be made to enforce the law, if at any time they decline to come or act when you 'phone them, request the senior officer's name and number and tell them to expect to be sued.

As I understand it, if someone is on private property and they are told to leave which they refuse to do, or they leave then return, they are then committing aggravated trespass which is a criminal offence.

Difficult unless they are aggressive or destructive; obstruction is also in the CJPO Act but, clearly, less easy to evidence without video. Nonetheless, if they are obstructing an activity they are breaking the law.

 

[rich8100]

It's a massive shame that the minority ruin such a fantastic hobby for the majority. As a member of NCMD we have a very comprehensive Code of Conduct for detecting on private permission land. The best course of action if you do give permission is to sign a contract which the detectorist provides...... of which a template is available on the NCMD website that the detectorist keeps on their person while present on the permissions land...... anyone detecting on that land must have the contract and be able to show it on request...... if they don't then they have no right to be there. Our hobby is kept alive purely through the good will of you the farmers. Countless items of great historical value have been found and viewed in museums by millions across the globe because of your good will........ it makes respectable and responsible detectorist's really angry that a very small minority threaten that good will.

spot on. me and the wife are members and have been doing it for about a year but only on common land like beaches.

wanting to move onto farm land but hitting brick walls trying to get permission. It really is a minority that ruin it for, should I say, professional detectorists. Those that do it by the book and present what they find.

a contract between farmer and detectorist is always good. And a letter allowing permission with both parties detailed to show neighbour that asks if you have permission.

also if they are a member of the NCMD they will also have there membership card.

anyone reported to them and if there is enough evidence they can also be banned from owning one.

it really is a shame and frustrates the hell out of us when a minority ruin a really good hobby for most.

 

[reboot]

What about going up in a mancage/cherry picker and shooting your shotgun over a large area, surely all the shot shrapnel will drive them mad keep digging up nothing. Do it while their not there ofcourse

 

[JCMaloney]

Most modern machines can be set to notch out specific targets like washers etc.
Even the ubiquitous "green waste" isn`t a guarantee to put folk off.
Shotgun cases....... or "Eley Pennies" as they are known are part & parcel of the hobby, the shot itself is generally too small to be detected.
A catapult of .177 or .22 airgun pellets however.............

 

[texelburger]

I have a guy who comes metal detecting on our land and in return he controls the moles,it's an arrangement which works well.We have become good friends over the years and,no,he hasnt found a pot of gold .I have some lovely old coins ,though, but they have no great value and also some other small objects of interest.

 

[stuartbush]

Saddens me when i read things like this, the amount of history that`s lost due to simpletons trespassing on peoples property and turning farmers against us. The problem is everybody gets tarred with the same brush and that just makes it impossible for honest people like me to get permission to detect anywhere, i wouldn't`t dream of stepping on anyone's land without permission.

 

[MrNoo]

Yes, it saddens me when you go into a field and find a mountain of fresh diggings, having been done in the night and even during the day. Lets just say I am not at all pleasant to anyone I find on my land without permission, and yes, it does bugger it up for all you legit bods. So what's the answer??!!

 

[Dry Rot]

Owning and having a reputation for training big hairy dogs helps. Haven't had a trespasser here for years.

 

[foxbox]

We had a chap appear in a field this spring, he seemed nice enough but had travelled 30 miles and clearly wasn't intending to ask permission before detecting. I asked him to leave but took lots of details (he showed me a lapsed membership card and so on) and photographing him and them in the field clearly made him very uncomfortable. I also gave him my number in case he had a change of heart as I suspected he wasn't going to leave as quickly as he said he would. I later had a text saying he'd found something and would like to return it and continue detecting.

Anyway, I reported it to our local rural crime officer and she suggested she'd like to speak to him so we agreed he could return the item to us. Two officers met him in the field, emptied his bags on the side of the road, spent well over half an hour giving him a talking to and then took all the stuff he'd found off him before returning it to me. He was also warned not to attempt to contact me or visit our farm again and went away worried about his employers being made aware of his activities. Nothing of any value has ever turned up here anyway and they came to the conclusion he'd got his directions mixed up (turned left out of the railway station instead of right!) as there is a known nighthawking site about the same distance away in a different direction.

We've got a few good local rural police officers around here but like everything if it isn't reported they can't do anything about it. Nothing but praise for them on this occasion!

 

[stuartbush]

We had a chap appear in a field this spring, he seemed nice enough but had travelled 30 miles and clearly wasn't intending to ask permission before detecting. I asked him to leave but took lots of details (he showed me a lapsed membership card and so on) and photographing him and them in the field clearly made him very uncomfortable. I also gave him my number in case he had a change of heart as I suspected he wasn't going to leave as quickly as he said he would. I later had a text saying he'd found something and would like to return it and continue detecting.

Anyway, I reported it to our local rural crime officer and she suggested she'd like to speak to him so we agreed he could return the item to us. Two officers met him in the field, emptied his bags on the side of the road, spent well over half an hour giving him a talking to and then took all the stuff he'd found off him before returning it to me. He was also warned not to attempt to contact me or visit our farm again and went away worried about his employers being made aware of his activities. Nothing of any value has ever turned up here anyway and they came to the conclusion he'd got his directions mixed up (turned left out of the railway station instead of right!) as there is a known nighthawking site about the same distance away in a different direction.

We've got a few good local rural police officers around here but like everything if it isn't reported they can't do anything about it. Nothing but praise for them on this occasion!

Good on them on that occasion, like i`ve said before these people are idiots. Simpletons looking for buried treasure that does not exist fueled by news of Saxon hoards worth millions. And yes they are out there but you have more chance of winning the lottery than finding one, as to what the answer is to stop it then, i don`t think there is one sadly. You will always have people who have zero respect for other peoples property whether it`s a shiny red sports car they can`t help keying or 50 acres of ploughed field they can`t help trespassing on. It`s why the world is turning into a cesspit.

 

[stuartbush]

Yes, it saddens me when you go into a field and find a mountain of fresh diggings, having been done in the night and even during the day. Lets just say I am not at all pleasant to anyone I find on my land without permission, and yes, it does bugger it up for all you legit bods. So what's the answer??!!

If it were me i would let the legit bod`s like myself help you stop them, from a personal point of view the land i do detect on is mine ( in my mind that is ) and as such i look after it. and lets just say if i found anyone hawking on it then they would have their very expensive equipment taken of them and De activated, for want of a word. A good detectorist is not only exposing the history of your land and area, but is also your game keeper, your eye`s and your ears.

 

[Dolomite]

If it were me i would let the legit bod`s like myself help you stop them, from a personal point of view the land i do detect on is mine ( in my mind that is ) and as such i look after it. and lets just say if i found anyone hawking on it then they would have their very expensive equipment taken of them and De activated, for want of a word. A good detectorist is not only exposing the history of your land and area, but is also your game keeper, your eye`s and your ears.

You seem like a decent chap but you seem to be very emotional and driven in your views and wording. Not such a bad thing. What you need to realise (maybe you already do) is that farmers, me included are odd when it comes to land. I and many other view it as an extension of our gardens etc just like you and private home owners do their gardens and property. 99.9% wouldn’t let me wander round their garden digging it up or walking my dogs so why should I let them? My Land is to make my living on their garden is to enjoy. Huge difference in the two you can’t educate people to. I understand your predicament but you have to understand farmers too. Yes a lot are grumpy because they are that type. But many like me don’t want the hassle, and if there were to be a big discovery. Can you imagine the agro you would have there after on the land it was found on and your neighbors would suffer. I couldn’t show my face at market or sales if that were the case. If time team were around still I’d have entertained them but as for a group or individuals? I’ll just stick to the villager who’s done it from a teenager and has a small tab for us in the pub as a thanks. Trust is the big question and barrier you need to break and it’s a hard one with us farmer kind.

 

[Red Fred]

I would dispute the idea that most detectoring tells us much about the history of our land. Sometimes, concentrations of Roman finds can lead to the discovery of an unknown villa, it's true, but the majority of individual finds from the ploughsoil tell us very little apart from the fact that someone dropped a coin or whatever at some point in the last two thousand years.
If you find a button from Nelson's jacket, it doesn't really mean much. He may have lost it canoodling in the meadow with Emma, but more likely it was shovelled up from the streets of Portsmouth and spread with the horse dung. Maybe his old coat was given to or stolen by a farm worker and discarded. Maybe it washed down the river in the floods. it simply shows that it was dropped at some point after it left the factory in 1795. It tells us very little about the history of the field but makes a nice addition to my collection of Navy buttons.
Many (most?) farmers are passionate about the history of their own land and know a surprising amount about it from reading,research and local lore. Detector finds are fascinating as objects in themselves or as illustrations, but I don't feel they really tell us much about our history.