Is it legal?

ge_rik

ge_rik

British narrow gauge (esp. Southwold and W&LLR)
Country flag
When out on my pushbike [I wear a baggy tracksuit rather than lycra so real cyclists tend to look the other way!] I've spotted a few patches of country lane where there is an accumulation of chippings in the gutter on the outside of some bends about the right size for ballast. I'm tempted to take a brush, dustpan and a plastic bag with me the next time I go that way. Is it stealing or just recycling?

Rik
 
Someone in Suffolk has been given a police warning for "stealing" pebbles from the beach.
 
The way things go in this country.......most likey stealing.
Plus you have told the World now.....:bigsmile::bigsmile:
 
England and Wales only: the surface of an adopted highway is the province of the local Highway Authority. The sub-soil generally belongs to the adjoining owner. The HA paid for the tarmac, so even if it breaks up, the detritus remains theirs unless they can be proved to have abandoned it. While it is unlikely (in my ex-professional opinion) that they would want/could afford to prosecute you for theft, or sue you for the cost of replacement, provided you haven't tried to help the breaking-up process along, you should bear in mind
- that the stuff may be contaminated with particulates from vehicle exhausts, oil, petrol and diesel leaks, horse droppings (you mentioned country lanes) and possibly more;
- that you might get hit by a passing motorist as you bend down to sweep;
- that your bicycle may become unstable as a result of uneven loading, rendering you liable to an accident or prosecution;
- the grit may not be the right colour or size after all, or there might not be enough.
To be safe, you ought to seek Counsel's Opinion; but that would buy you enough bags of gravel to last you a lifetime.
Regards,
Mr Justice Cocklecarrot.

"British justice not only has to be done, it has to be seen to be believed."
 
"British justice not only has to be done, it has to be seen to be believed."

In that case he may join our members in the Antipodes. :bigsmile:
 
After 30 years as a police officer and now 8 years as a highway inspector, I have to say, leave it alone.

David
 
Tidying up some surplus grit in the gutter is surely just the sort of voluntary public-spirited action that Cameron's 'Big Society' would ask of us all? :D
 
[style="color: #0000ff;"]"After 30 years as a police officer and now 8 years as a highway inspector, I have to say, leave it alone."

Is it still the LA's when it squirts through my windscreen cos the LA has not paid enough to have the job done right and then failed to sweep the loose chippings? Rhetorical question. :bigsmile:
 
A few years ago I volunteered on a narrow gauge railway (naming no names) and we 'acquired' a lorry load of sweepings from the Transport Department. We used it for paths; and I can confirm that it had a high proportion of flat hedgehogs.:rolf::rolf::rolf:
 
Having come off a bike at speed onto some which was less than a week old, lacerating various exposed body parts, and having taken suspension damage from an unrepaired pothole which had just been tarred over, I'm with you on both counts! At best it's a postponing measure, which puts off a full resurface for a few years. At best.
 
I wonder where those motorised road sweepers dump their loads (so to speak)

Rik
 
Stainzmeister said:
There is also the question of Health and Safety.
How can the LA put down tar spray and loose chippings and say it is safe ?? (Flying grit - could take an eye out as well as windscreens, etc).
As a cyclist and a motorist, I detest tar spray and chippings :@
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My house is over 40' from the road but when the carriageway was sprayed and chipped there were stones ?shot out from car tyres hitting our front windows.
 
ge_rik said:
I wonder where those motorised road sweepers dump their loads (so to speak)

Rik
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Considering some of the ........ errrrrrr ........... "things" I've seen left behind in the gutter and verge after RTC's etc. Rik (that the carrion didn't take), I think I'd rather just go out and buy a bag of gravel. :bleh::bleh:
 
Is not loose gravel a skidding/crashing hazard, especially to cyclists ? I would remove the offending substance if I were you;)
 
Regardless of the legality (and even down here in the colonies it probably is illegal) from the part of my day job which involves working on the road you'll find the stuff at the side of the road will likely be very dirty compared to chip or sand from the quarry. For the small saving it's probably not worth it.
Hmm that said I have had the advantage of salvaging rocks etc from roadside jobs while on site inspections ;)
 
ROSS said:
Yes...AND they are quite proud of the fact down under!!
Social status and all that turned on its head.
( I know..they are upside down to us):rolf::rolf::rolf:

Standby for TREV.:laugh:
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I must be the only true Aussie on the forum. I at least rise to the bait! Yes it's great to live here we all live in detached housing you know and some of us have backyards bigger that Pommie counties. That aside, this poor chap has to stoop so low as to have to sweep scalpings (as they are known to us) for his railway.... What sort of mateship is that??? Jesus if he were here he would have had his mates offering to cockatoo for him while he half inched the damned stuff. Go on take it but wear a HiVis vest or such while you're in the act, any passing motorists will assume its an official matter and will ignore you. I wouldn't take it though based on the fact that the contaminants may cause grief at a much later date. But I should talk, I have a comprehensive collection of stones, rocks and dirts, gravels and sands gathered during my extensive caravanning travels, I even have a chunk of stromatelite and we all know where I would have had be to get that...
Is it not simpler to find a local landscaping merchant, front up with a bucket and see if they will give you some fine gravel?

Yes even here taking sand from a beach can get you in strife; when I had my steam launch my Dad used to gather coal off the beach at a quaint seaside village adjacent to the site of the wreck of the SS Plutus, the coal from her bunkers used to wash ashore after storms..... One day Dad phones to tell me he had been taken into custody for stealing the coal but not to worry about it..... Turns out a NP&WS Ranger had spotted him, followed him home, found the bags of coal on his premises (Oh yes no warrant for NP&WS officers needed) and had had him charged with 'defiling/defacing and disturbing an historic shipwreck' fine AU$50000. Fortunatley the magistrate saw the absurdity in the charge and threw it out of court with a very strong warning to the NP&WS to maintain the dignity of their office. Coincidentally 6 months after their defeat in court a stainless steel chain mesh fence was erected along the beach extending from mean high water to mean low water lines the limit of jurisdiction for the now shamed NP&WS... It lasted another 3 months till the first storm reduced it to debris....
 
Having a few sherbets this morning Trev?
 
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