Pub to close over razor wire row

Pub to close over razor wire row

A landlord is closing down his pub after the local council refused to let him keep razor wire around it.

Wayne Etheridge installed the security device at the Royal Oak, in Amblecote, Stourbridge, after burglers struck three times in less than a year.

Dudley Council said he did not have planning permission and a planning inspector has told him to take it down.

But Mr Etheridge said he had been unable to get insurance without it and had no choice but to close the pub.

He said 12 staff would be made redundant on the last day of trading on 6 July.

Let me get this straight. You need planning permission to protect your property from burglars? Why not simply grant a belated request like happens to these corrupt MPs who delve into the property market on their fiddled expenses? It seems crazy that you cannot get insurance without razorwire, and then you cannot install it without planning permission. Meanwhile, whilst the council acts like silly buggers 12 people are going to be thrown out of work and have to claim state benefits.

Tell me the world isn't going mad, please!

Pssssst! Landlord, I did hear that Tony Martin has a secondhand double-barreled shotgun for sale...