LETTER: Nature reserve thieves should ‘get a life’

I hope, and it is a forlorn hope, that the person or persons who broke into the hut/hide at Greenfield Local Nature Reserve and doing severe criminal damage to the structure and stealing a valuable heavy duty strimmer/brushcutter, will realise what a ripple of consequences they have caused.
By The Newsroom
Published 21st Aug 2012, 20:56 BST

Not only is the value monetary (cost £390), but also in terms of its usefulness to a small but dedicated group of volunteers.

We used it to keep subsidiary paths clear and to keep the log circle clear of vegetation. This piece of equipment would have come in very useful in a project we are soon to be undertaking of helping unemployed people take part in Reserve Management and Conservation.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The grant we are being offered has already been costed and will not cover replacing the item stolen. Our current slender resources will not buy a new one.

The number of people who had to become involved after the theft included two policemen, five of our volunteers and several from Pendle Environmental Action Group who did the repairs and strengthening of the building.

There is a cost to this which will come out of maintenance money, which could have been spent on something more positive. All this amounts to a waste of people’s time and resources, all because some mindless, thieving vandals chose to cash in and no doubt feed their habit. I, for one, hope you choke on it.

We will not be put off, but will continue to do what we can to make Greenfield LNR a good place for everyone to enjoy. Get a life and do something useful for a change.

Annette Hawkins Secretary Friends of Greenfield Local Nature Reserve