John
04-15-2009, 02:08 PM
Businessman burgled after giant catapult ban
A Nottinghamshire businessman who set up a 30ft dung-firing catapult to deter intruders has been burgled after police warned him it was illegal.
Joe Weston-Webb, 71, a former travelling showman, decided he needed the deterrent after a series of break-ins, reports the Daily Telegraph.
The catapult, based on a Roman boulder-thrower, was originally built for a series of unsuccessful attempts to fire his wife, Mary, across the River Avon in 1976.
Mr Weston-Webb settled for a career in business after designing a type of click-together wooden flooring which earned him contracts with hotels and the entertainment industry, including the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing.
But following a series of attacks by vandals on his company, Grumpy Joe, in Ratcliffe-on-Soar, he restored the rusty catapult and equipped it to fire bags of chicken droppings at intruders if an alarm was triggered.
His eccentric methods attracted media attention as well as a warning from Nottinghamshire Police that using the giant catapult would be illegal as it did not constitute "reasonable force".
But now his business had been targeted by thieves again. Burglars vandalised his workshop and stole cutting equipment, a plasma screen television and a laptop among other goods during the break-in.
Mr Weston-Webb said his private CCTV cameras picked up a figure entering the premises but the catapult was not primed following the police warning.
"It is ridiculous that we are in this situation now in which we can't defend ourselves," he said.
A spokesman for Nottinghamshire Police said: "The setting up of booby traps is outside the scope of the law and is something Nottinghamshire Police would advise against."
A Nottinghamshire businessman who set up a 30ft dung-firing catapult to deter intruders has been burgled after police warned him it was illegal.
Joe Weston-Webb, 71, a former travelling showman, decided he needed the deterrent after a series of break-ins, reports the Daily Telegraph.
The catapult, based on a Roman boulder-thrower, was originally built for a series of unsuccessful attempts to fire his wife, Mary, across the River Avon in 1976.
Mr Weston-Webb settled for a career in business after designing a type of click-together wooden flooring which earned him contracts with hotels and the entertainment industry, including the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing.
But following a series of attacks by vandals on his company, Grumpy Joe, in Ratcliffe-on-Soar, he restored the rusty catapult and equipped it to fire bags of chicken droppings at intruders if an alarm was triggered.
His eccentric methods attracted media attention as well as a warning from Nottinghamshire Police that using the giant catapult would be illegal as it did not constitute "reasonable force".
But now his business had been targeted by thieves again. Burglars vandalised his workshop and stole cutting equipment, a plasma screen television and a laptop among other goods during the break-in.
Mr Weston-Webb said his private CCTV cameras picked up a figure entering the premises but the catapult was not primed following the police warning.
"It is ridiculous that we are in this situation now in which we can't defend ourselves," he said.
A spokesman for Nottinghamshire Police said: "The setting up of booby traps is outside the scope of the law and is something Nottinghamshire Police would advise against."