Is it legal for me to place glass on the top of rear garden wall to prevent trespass?

Peter54

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At the back of my home there is land that I presume is owned by the council, of late this particular area has become a hang out for unsightly characters and my home has been broken into on more than two occasions.

Is it legal for me to place glass on the top of my rear garden wall to prevent any further trespassing onto my property?

I've tried searching for this answer but have gotten nowhere.
 
The only reference I found was in an insurance company's website, dealing with insurance, health & safety matters for schools.

(f) The law does not allow you to create any undue hazards or traps in your security measures. If you do incorporate items such as barbed wire, broken glass on walls etc then liability will attach to the Board in the event of any resulting injury
 
You need to ask a solicitor about this specific matter, bit I will offer some general points you can consider yourself and then if required put to him/her.

I think liability may arise for you which could result in a claim on your insurance.

Quite apart from the hidden, unadvertised hazard you have introduced to the boundary of your property where persons have been accustomed to gaining entry without let or hindrance, once this is known about the glass barrier becomes relatively ineffective - a thick piece of carpet defeats it.

I think your money would be better spent on a conspicuous alarm box and a motion-sensitive outside light, backed up by an internal silent alarm linked to either a security company or the local police station.

In short, this is a security matter and yet you have to be reasonable.

Allied to the measures described above, constant vigilance, a neighbourhood watch scheme and calling the police to move on illegal drink and drug taking [should this be what is going on] may well be the best bet.

My best advice is to start softly softly - let these guys see you coming and don't spring any nasty traps on them or they may become vindictive towards you, your property and your car.

Community engagement with the persons concerned and/or their parents to curb any anti-social behaviour may be the best way forward if done in a conciliatory and non-accusatory manner.

Remember, the persons in the field may not be the infiltrators of your property - they may be using them as "cover", so don't go around accusing anyone in the wrong.

ONQ.
 
Onq's advice is very good.

I remember a case in the UK where a lady who lived alone beside a green area used by children to play football was tired of the ball coming over her wall and the children climbing in to get it.

She had glass cemented onto the top of her wall and when the next child came over and badly cut himself, she was taken to court by the parents and found liable for the child's injuries, pain and suffering, costs, etc.

There's some info here on the pros and cons of putting glass on your wall - it's a UK site, but the laws here are pretty similar.

Here's the Occupiers' Liability Act 1995 from the Irish Statute Book, which may help you make your decision.

You can buy Wall Spikes from Screwfix or Amazon - might be a less dangerous solution than the broken glass.

Or you can try that sticky black tar-like stuff that doesn't dry. You can get Moly Grease from this Irish website, the top of the wall will be so greasy, they won't be able to climb over it.
 
No, Afraid not OP. Find another discrete way. Not advocating this but should the top of the wall be painted in waste car oil not only would it be dangerous but their lovely white track suit clothes or other would be very soiled and traceable. As I say, you don't know who or how the dirty oily substance got there .............
 
As a matter of interest i have often noticed the window sills at ground level with spikes inserted thereon. Some of such premises includes property occupied by solicitors. If you sat on these window sills it would be indeed a painful experience.
 
Get a tub of axle grease and smear it liberally on the top of the wall, it puts them right off getting on to the wall and you have the bonus that they have ruined there clothes.
 
dewdrop,

That's possibly a means of advertising the painful financial experience their clients will undergo soon enough :)

(ducks)

Seriously though, some of these spikes are in fact to keep birds of a feathered kind off the sills [the high level ones] and string courses while the ground floor ones are usually on the sills to preventing loitering by bottoms unknown and uninvited.

Be careful about the oil.
Again it could lead to a matter of petty vindictiveness on their part.
I would also be very wary of using an organic oil such as sunflower or fish oil.
Its possible that it could attract birds and vermin such as rodents, field voles and mice from the open space.

ONQ.
 
Flying dog.

I once knew a lady who had a problem with people climbing on her wall until she got a new dog.

This was no ordinary dog though ! oh no this was a flying dog, only problem was he used to get a very very upset stomach whilst flying and then used to do his toilet business on the top of the wall, as he could not return to the runway (lawn) in time.

Strangely enough around this time the people climbing over the wall stopped.
 
While a certain degree of levity has entered this thread i feel OP has raised a serious issue especially as so many people will run to a solicitor if they feel they have any chance of getting compensation.
 
But the levity makes a valid suggestion .... putting dog poop or otherwise on the wall would deter some who might consider hopping over it.

I can't see how dog poop would cause problems legally .....
 
From a brief glance at the English Occupiers Liability Act, the standard owed to trespassers seems a lot higher there than in Ireland.
The duty owed to trespassers in Ireland is generally not to show reckless disregard for their safety.
What "reckless disregard" means is specified further in Section 4 of the Occupiers Liability Act

Applied to your specific case, I'm not sure there is a clear answer. You know that there are specific people there who may use this as a way in to your property - if there is any injury, arguably you would have shown a "reckless disregard" to their safety.
If you do put up glass, you can at least minimise the danger by putting up a notice saying "glass on top of wall".
 
Be careful with grease etc on the top of the wall. A neighbour did this and the birds carried the grease on their feet to other neighbours clothes line destroying the laundry.

After he paid compensation to his elderly neighbour for her quilt covers and sheets he planted a variety of prickly plants. Once they had established themselves the trespass problems abated.

OP you assume that the open space belongs to the Local Authority, you should determine precisely who the owner is and engage with them.

I know of cases where the parks department of the LA have installed more secure fencing. I have also come across cases where some or all of the houses are occupied by LA tenants and the LA housing department has installed security features on the top of existing walls.
 
Some years back, we, as a residents association investigated putting up palisade fencing to divide our estate from a lane leading to a disused shed where a lot of anti social behaviour was happening. I myself contacted a number of insurance companies to see what the story would be with regard to liability should anyone have an accident trying to get across it. I was told that we had to ensure that the palisade was "trespasser friendly". When pressed the insurance companies were very vague as to what "trespasser friendly" meant. So we just decided to abandon the idea.
 
From a brief glance at the English Occupiers Liability Act, the standard owed to trespassers seems a lot higher there than in Ireland.
The duty owed to trespassers in Ireland is generally not to show reckless disregard for their safety.
What "reckless disregard" means is specified further in Section 4 of the Occupiers Liability Act

Applied to your specific case, I'm not sure there is a clear answer. You know that there are specific people there who may use this as a way in to your property - if there is any injury, arguably you would have shown a "reckless disregard" to their safety.
If you do put up glass, you can at least minimise the danger by putting up a notice saying "glass on top of wall".

Being the devil's advocate just for a moment ; -

- how many languages should such a sign be written in?
- should it also be written in braille?
- should it be lit at night?

Because the way the law seems to be going all the above answers might need to be in the affirmative - does anyone know?

ONQ.
 
Anti climb paint is your only man. You can put up a warning sign with it, although it is not necessary to do this in Ireland.

The paint will form a crust which birds will not penitrate, however if someone were to apply body weight to the surface they will be marked.

Once it is applied it will stay there for years.

Although there is a very easy way to remove it if you have to. (I wont go into that here).
 
Thank you everyone, all your advise is very much appreciated.

Onq, you have made some great points; especially the point about the petty vindictiveness. This is something I hadn't thought about and no doubt could possibly be a factor if these people were injured climbing the wall.

Dewdrop, yes, claims of compensation are a major problem. I have spoken to other neighbors who have advised against putting glass on the wall due to false claims. They also believe it could draw even further attention.

Its so frustrating that you cannot protect your own property without the criminals turning the compensation table on you.
 
I know the boundary wall to the old stardust night club is about 15 ft high and is coverd with broken glass bottles placed to ensure maximum effect, and can be clearly seen from ardlee road in artane,
 
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