Landlord tells father to demolish garden pond 'because burglars could fall and drown

A father has been told to demolish his garden pond because burglars could fall in and drown. Kevin Sheehan, 62, claims his landlord told him his pond poses a risk to the public because it is not visible from the other side of his six foot fence. He now faces eviction if he fails to remove it. Mr Sheehan said his landlord Sovereign started complaining when he added two extra concrete blocks around the water's edge to stop his one-year-old daughter, Olivia, falling in.

Mr Sheehan, of Abingdon, Oxon, said: "I was thinking of my daughter's safety and was building it up another two blocks' I had it at the old height for about 15 years and it's never been a problem. "The reason they gave was if someone breaks into the back garden they can fall in the pond because there's a six-foot fence all round and they can't see it.

"I said 'well they shouldn't be breaking in'."

A spokeswoman for Sovereign said: "We don't want to prevent anyone enjoying hobbies which may include fish keeping in a garden pond but, as the landlord, we do ask residents to get our permission if they intend running a business from their home or building a permanent structure.

"Due to the substantial size of the pond we're talking to our insurance company and with the resident about how we might resolve this."

She did not comment on Mr Sheehan's claims about the pond posing a risk to burglars.

Sovereign also failed to confirm if other residents in the area had been asked to remove their ponds.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/25/landlord-tells-father-to-demolish-garden-pond-because-burglars-c/