Damage being done to Farm

nightwing84

Hello All,

My elderly Mum lives on a farm on her own in Leitrim. In past few months she has noticed damage been done to various things. This includes slates been taken off sheds, posts and wire been taken down, stone walls damaged and paint been put on wooden fence.

As I live several hours away I can't keep an eye on things. We have told the guards but of course they have done nothing.

Just wondering if anyone else has experience of this and what we can do do stop it happening.

Many Thanks.

rangler1

nightwing84 wrote: »

Hello All,

My elderly Mum lives on a farm on her own in Leitrim. In past few months she has noticed damage been done to various things. This includes slates been taken off sheds, posts and wire been taken down, stone walls damaged and paint been put on wooden fence.

As I live several hours away I can't keep an eye on things. We have told the guards but of course they have done nothing.

Just wondering if anyone else has experience of this and what we can do do stop it happening.

Many Thanks.

Only way really is a few security cameras....not really practical on a big area, but you might be lucky, is your mother still farming it

jimini0

Sounds like somebody who has something against your mother. It happened over the road from me. Turned out to be a man who was thrown off the land for not paying rent. He paid a couple of local gob****es to do his dirty work.
Put up a couple of cameras one fairly visable and a couple not so visable.

larrymiller

A dog ?

jimini0

larrymiller wrote: »

A dog ?

If they go to the trouble of doin damage undetected what's to stop them throwing the dog a poisoned piece of steak

toptom

Travellers maybe ??

High bike

toptom wrote: »

Travellers maybe ??

doubt its travellers,maybe someone wants her to sell or rent the land????

GardeningGirl

Hi. That's awful. My parents bought a house before from an older lady who had been frightened out by people who wanted to buy it. They didn't get it haha
But anyway do ya have anyone around who can keep an eye on her and make a bigger presence about the place?
Might make a deterrent.
Camera also a good idea, even dummy ones, can get them cheap enough online.

nightwing84

Thanks all.

I think its most likely someone trying to scare her into selling rather than anyone with anything against her.

I like the suggestion of some dummy cameras. Its worth a try anyway.

Hard to believe an old woman on her own cant just be left alone.

DK man

Sounds more sinister and like someone has some sort of gripe.

I heard of a guy who used to look after a bit of land and holiday home. When he was no longer needed he took his revenge and broke windows in the property one night - luckily he was caught and disgraced himself and had to cough up....

Camera would be a great addition - but whoever it is is very intent on causing harm so I think some would need to be hidden as the boko would probably pull them down. Your poor mother - hope it's sorted and the culprit is caught and shamed

wildcatares22

Might be an idea to get one of those sim card panic buttons just in case things went further than damaging property. Have a similar situation here with the father in law. He's afraid to go near the yard on his own.

selectamatic

Try and get as many deterrents in place as possible; camera's and dummy camera's are great, perhaps a few hidden ones as it does seem to be a slightly sinister problem, a dog is a great addition too, no need for big rottweilers a good sharp terrier is a fair deterrent and they are much easier fed :P a few of them motion detecting halogen lamps are great too (anyone up to no good likes to have the cover of darkness).
Aside from that perhaps a loud alarm although this might not be suitable. I know this all cost money but it may be money well spent to give an elderly woman piece of mind and comfort in her own surroundings.
Coincidentally I just watched the field the other day and the scenes involving Tadhg and the bird terrorizing the widow really are pertinent to your mothers situation. Crimes against the elderly really are the lowest of the low!
A shot fired in the general direction of the perpetrator would be a great solution to the problem but this may not be feasible in ye're situation.
It would also be a very worthwhile exercise to sit down with your mother and find out if there is anyone who may have a grudge against her over the land or rent or anything along them lines, as the saying goes "better the devil you know than the devil you don't".

Jimlh86

nightwing84 wrote: »

Hello All,

My elderly Mum lives on a farm on her own in Leitrim. In past few months she has noticed damage been done to various things. This includes slates been taken off sheds, posts and wire been taken down, stone walls damaged and paint been put on wooden fence.

As I live several hours away I can't keep an eye on things. We have told the guards but of course they have done nothing.

Just wondering if anyone else has experience of this and what we can do do stop it happening.

Many Thanks.

Firstly I'm very sorry to hear this, it's frightening enough for a young person never mind being elderly. Cameras are your best bet if you have no clue who's at it? "Of course the guards did nothing" is a bit harsh? What can they do?

Bullocks

Jimlh86 wrote: »

Firstly I'm very sorry to hear this, it's frightening enough for a young person never mind being elderly. Cameras are your best bet if you have no clue who's at it? "Of course the guards did nothing" is a bit harsh? What can they do?

They could send a car to drive around as regularly as possible . I guarantee if it was a guards mother that was being hassled they would find the resources to deal with it efficiently.

patsy_mccabe

nightwing84 wrote: »

.... We have told the guards but of course they have done nothing..

Don't be so sure there is nothing done. They probably made their own inquiries on the quiet.
Are they are any neighbours that you could talk to about this?
Is there any other relative that could possibly stay with your mum at night?

Deepsouthwest

Definitely cameras needed, whoever's at that kinda messing needs to be caught.

barnaman

Its someone local as if around yard where are they parking their car? Camera the answer

http://www.farmersjournal.com/store/productDetail.php?c=113&p=4283

Looking at this type for myself. Also if stick it up tell noone at first be interesting to see who is doing what. By way some this could be accidental and some kids messing do not alarm the mother but take care of stuff like camera yourself. Get her a dog if at all possible best of the lot. Trained mine to only take food from me not that difficult to do; feed him one spot only and if eats anywhere else punish him.

MayoAreMagic

While you may well be right, sometimes we can be too quick to suspect foul play. Just because the person is old or what we would consider weak in some way, we assume someone somewhere is out to get them, when often they aren't.
The slates could have blown off the shed for a start - who goes up onto a shed taking off slates? What if someone comes, everyone can see them!? It is a very over-elaborate way to vandalise something.
Paint on a fence is a little vague, was something painted on it, was there much paint used? This might not be vandalism at all, it could be a hired workman cleaning his brush or something.
Re the stone wall, what kind of damage? A few stones knocked. Could be young lads crossing ditches to go off smoking or someone just taking a shortcut, which could be completely unrelated.
The fence going missing is a strange one, but is the land being used at all? Is it possible that someone loaned your family some fence beforehand, forgotten over time, and now that the farm isn't being used they felt they weren't getting it back and decided to take it for fear of never getting it?

It is just I know on my own farm, things break with the wind, or animals rubbing against them. Hares dig out ditches and the fence falls over. Stone walls fall down a bit now and again for no apparent reason. If I was expecting something bad to happen, I could link them all together and have something built up in my head very quickly...

angusangus

Deepsouthwest wrote: »

Definitely cameras needed, whoever's at that kinda messing needs to be caught.

Yes definitely cameras and maybe if you could hire a security firm to patrol the area 24/7 a few weeks would be a good deterant