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Criminal 'Markers' Left On Farm Gates

mrpoultice

Fen-dwelling Slodger
Joined
Jan 28, 2003
Messages
374
OK this might be legit, but there's something of the chalk "Thief Marks" trope in this. I'm a country lad and know orange baler twine ends up EVERYWHERE.

27th August
Farmers warned to remove suspected criminal 'markers'
By Charlotte MoreauReporter

FARMERS and landowners in Herefordshire are being warned to look out for signs that their property has been 'marked' by criminals.
A police spokesperson said reports have been received of farm gates being marked as 'soft targets' with a single piece of baling twine tied halfway down.
Police advised that any twine found tied to a gate in this manner should be removed.
You can report suspicious incidents and suspected marking to police on 101.

Link to story: Hereford Times

Mr P.
 
I think it's worthwhile to note something ...

Here's the photo that accompanied the Hereford Times news article ...

219197190.jpg.gallery.jpg

You'll note there's an integral latch or catch built into the top of the gate to hold the paired gates shut.

An extra length of twine (rope, wire, etc.) affixed to a gate might simply represent an add-on to persistently provide a means for holding a gate open.

I recall such twine / rope / wire add-ons being used for this very purpose on wooden gates at my grandfather's farm The twine (etc.) could be readily tied or wrapped around an adjacent object (fence; post) as a convenient means for temporarily holding the gate open (e.g., when driving cows through the gate).

I'm not refuting the thieves' marker theory. I'm just pointing out there's an obvious alternative explanation, and it may require consultation with the landowner / farmer to verify whether the twine was added by an outsider.
 
That's my point, Chalk drawings / painted symbols, small piles of brightly coloured pebbles, could all be unusual signs. But in the countryside, especially right now in the MIDST of harvest time, such a ubiquitous material is everywhere, on my usual dog walk there' a post by a footpath entry with a length tied around, serving no function, and probably the result of something being temporarily tied to the post and the string being left over afterwards.

I suspect this one's a folk-devil panic.
 
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