I was down at Dartmoor for a fleeting visit at the weekend and saw this guy with a footpump and an inflatable kayak shaped craft all ready and set to sail downstream from the B3387 bridge.
Now this is a very pretty stream running into the West Dart and in places is barely wadable due to width alone! The stream is also important as a Salmon spawning area.
I know we should all share and all of that but what was the bloke doing on this backwater?

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[COLOR="Blue"]"A fish seen is a fish nearly caught"[/COLOR]

Did you point this out to him? Time and again I hear members of our club moan about canoeists on the water without proper access agreements in place. Asked if any of them pointed this out to the canoeists there is the usual mumblings of "not my place" etc etc.

If I see canoeists on water where I know no access is in place they get both barrels (unfortunately not literally, though my patience has been close to breaking).

"Q" the Deliverance theme tune duelling banjos.

I have challenged canoeists several times and achieved nothing apart from raised blood pressure.One man accused me of trying to drown him as I was holding his canoe whilst telling him - politely-that he was trespassing.Another quoted some ancient piece of legislation - unlike him I had read it and I must admit I did enjoy saying 'actually,yes , as you ask' to his question 'are you a f**ing lawyer or summat?'

If they haven't got permission to be there (they'll be very quick to tell if they have - 99 times out of 100 they won't), they are breaking the law, so call the police. Unlikely that the police will want to do anything but short of direct intervention which isn't really advisable it's probably the best you can do.


Andy

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Having some fun?
Given the small size of the stream I doubt he had that much fun and he wont have caused any more disturbance than an angler wading up it. There are no salmon spawning up there at the moment.
It is Dartmoor in the summer, he is one twit who fancied doing some paddling in an odd place. I don't think he will ever bother again or that the Cherrybrook Challenge will become a big feature in the kayaking calendar. With luck the gorse bushes will have punctured his inflatable


Andy

I am not sure they are actually breaking the law Andy, I seem to remember this discussion has come up before and it was pointed out that trespassing is not against the law unless they cause damage or violence.

In this case I suppose it could be argued that he would have been damaging the spawning grounds of the salmon though?!

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This is indeed a moot point, I got the below quote from a 'Trespass' website:-

'Trespass in short is when an individual or their property enter the property of another without their consent or pre-existing agreement such as a right of way easement.

To put it in more practical terms a trespass is walking, using, or making a disposition of your land without your permission. The trespasser is the individual who is performing the trespass or the owner of the item in trespass.'

No mention of damage or loss but I guess a good solicitor could make a case. As I say it's unlikely that the police would be interested though the threat of calling them may make a difference.
Would 'restraining' the canoe be regarded as assault? Not suggesting this as a solution, just interested to know.
Possibly the best solution is to get hold of the riparian owner. An angry farmer shouting 'Get off my land!' has far more gravitas than a lone angler telling a miscreant canoeist that they aren't really meant to be there!

Cheers

Andy

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That would be Prince Charles in this case.
I'm not sure you would get very far with the trespass argument in this case either. You can walk where you like and even wildcamp on the open moor so nobody (apart from the angler who meets him) is going to get excited about one daft sod in a blow up boat.
He will not have caused any damage to spawning grounds, kick sampling disturbes the river bed more than a kayak! More worrying for salmon spawning is the number of dams built by kids (and dads) on these little streams in the summer holidays.


Andy

Completely agree, doubt the police would do anything for good ole trespass as it is a "tort law" and not specifically criminal so is not enforced by the police. As the land is public I am going to stick my neck out and say the guy was doing nothing against any rules or laws?! Not saying he was right to do it just that he may well have been entitled to.

Dan

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