A gardener who put up barbed wire to protect his allotment from thieves has been ordered to take it down in case intruders hurt themselves.
Bill Malcolm, 61, was told to "remove it on health and safety grounds" by the local council which owns the allotments in Marlbrook, Worcestershire.
He erected the deterrent after thieves struck three times in four months, stealing more than £300 worth of spades, forks, hoes and wrecking his potato patch in the process.
Mr Malcolm said: "It's an absolutely ridiculous situation, all I wanted was to protect my property but the wire had to go in case a thief scratched himself.
"I told them to let the thief sue me so at least that way I would know who was breaking into my allotment but everything I said fell on deaf ears.
"The barbed wire was a single strand and ringing my property only. It was just three foot high and wasn't as though I'd dug a moat filled with piranha and erected six foot iron railings."
A spokesman for Bromsgrove District Council said: "With regard to the barbed wire, we are obliged to request its removal or remove it on health and safety grounds to the general public, as this is a liability issue."
She advised allotment tenants with security concerns to contact the local police.
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