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Say, for example, a small business sent out stickers that were a similar size, shape and colour to green Public Footpath signs but they had 'Public Right of Way' on them, and some people stuck them over 'footpath' signs by way of protest/pointing out the stupidity of our access laws regarding horses and bicycles, would that business be guilty of a crime?
Hypothetically, like.
AFAIK "Incitement to...(commit crime X)" isn't itself a crime unless it exists in itself.
Is trespass even a crime?
Ok, cool. Trespass isn't a crime as such, it's a civil thing, I meant would that business be open to any kind of prosecution or action for sending out these hypothetical stickers?
I am sure the ramblers would find something. Probably a 13th century law requiring burning at the stake as the minimum penalty.
They’d be done for selling counterfoot items.
Sounds like progress.
Hmmm, not sure. There is provision in the Highways Act sorry National Parks and Access to Countryside Act for some of this regarding signs, but it's more that you can't mislead with a view to deterring people from using a right of way. IANAL though, and you are in effect doing the opposite. Check for provisions regarding obliteration of signage too. [In the Highways act as per below ]
Fly Posting
Fly-posting is displaying adverts and other promotional materials without permission, on buildings, posts, poles, litter bins and elsewhere in public. Fly-posting is mainly done by businesses and community groups that want free advertising. Many local councils have a 'zero tolerance' policy on fly-posting.In England/Wales, fly-posting is illegal (in certain circumstances) under the Highways Act 1980 and the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. Offences under the 1980 Act include that of obliterating a traffic sign, while under the 1990 Act it is an offence to display an advertisement in a way that breaches specified regulations. Legal measures to prevent fly-posting include:
On-the-spot fines of up to £80
Use of fixed penalty notices
Prosecution in a magistrates’ court
Special powers to tackle Anti-Social Behaviour
Charging the offender for the cost of removing the posters
Scotland has similar provisions under the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 and the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997. The only sanction is prosecution before a sheriff, who can impose a fine of up to £1000 and, if the offence is under the 1997 Act and continues after conviction, an additional fine of up to £100 per day.
There have been cases in which the 'beneficiaries' of the flyposting have been found liable, but this seems slightly extreme in what you're proposing.
It's littering if you don't fall foul of the laws mention by Martinhutch above.
The person putting them up would be the one doing the littering (if it is that).
Surely the shop is doing nothing different to a farm supplies shop selling a bridleway signpost, if a few bad apples choose to stick them over a footpath sign then that's on them.
Just selling novelty stickers for personal use. If someone chooses to use them to cover up a sign, well that’s on them 😉
Criminal Damage Act 1971 s3 would be my suggestion because I'm struggling to think of aa lawful use.
Doesn't seem to matter when applied in reverse. There's a ROW across a field near my Dad's. Farmer has put a "Beware of the bull" sign on the gate at each end. I've never seen a bull in it, seems like a blag to me. Doubt there's much can be done about that.
Opens the landowner up to lots of liability, including manslaughter, if there is a bull and it hurts someone. Very hard to argue your bull wasn't dangerous if you've put up a sign warning people about it.
Fair enough in that case, but the cynic in me thinks he just wants people orf moi laarnd.
Well if you never put a bull in the field you don't have to worry about liability for it and if the sign keeps the ramblers out then bonus.
Criminal Damage Act 1971 s3
Nah, it's just a sticker innit. It's not like they're stencil kits and tins of paint with instructions on how to deface a sign properly or anything.
'Novelty stickers for personal use' is good, ta.
What do you hope to achieve?
would that business be guilty of a crime?
Well I wouldn’t want anything to do with a business that produced stickers like that.
All seams a bit childish and actually not in anyway shape or form going to do anything to ever improve access rights.
+ 1 FunkyDunk. Pointless & a bit irritating.
[u]I[/u] don't hope to achieve anything, the question was hypothetical.