Trench and fishing wire trap

When a thief visits in the small hours, the last thing he expects is a 7ft-deep trench. But that’s exactly what he’ll find if he tries getting his hands on Mark D’s bike.

After losing two bikes in as many years and seeing his insurance soar, Mark got the 3ft-wide trench dug in his driveway, lined it with concrete, then covered it with six bamboo canes and 3mm thick plastic sheeting with gravel glued to it.

He said: ” It really is quite normal to look at and even takes the weight of a cat. Anything that weighs a bit more, down they go. As they shouldn’t be there in the first place I have no sympathy if they fall down. ”

However, Mark does have a small sign by the trench warning visitors: ” Beware, hole dug due to building work. ”

If a burglar does bypass the trench, Mark has one more security precaution – a web of fishing line. Mark explains: ” If I’m going away without my bike I use very thin fishing line criss-crossed around panel pins across the doorway of the garage, like a spider’s web. I forgot to tell the wife and she walked into the garage not knowing. It worked a treat. ”

Cost: The trench cost Mark £100 plus labour. The spider’s web was ” not much more than a tenner ” .

How legal is this? Det Insp Gibbs says: ” You need to convince the court that you intended to protect the bike, not injure someone. Warning signs are only a defence if they are obvious and suggest that you did everything you could to warn people and prevent the accident. ”