To wonder if this can really be classed as stealing

[bittersweetvictory]

I live at about 2 minutes away from the sea shore and wanted some stones to make a border in my garden, i needed about 20 so went down this afternoon with my son to collect some, i was in the middle of doing just that when an old man came tearing out his house screaming at me that what i was doing was stealing and that if i didnt stop then he was calling the police, i thought he was joking but he kept ranting and raving at me, i took them anyway and told him to go ahead and told him my address, the shore stretches for about 3 mile and there must be about 64848465757 million stones on the shore, is this really classed as stealing ? can the police actually do anything ?

Well we live by the beach and I've taken stones off the beach and driftwood I've even taken seaweed for my tortise too.

Just because lots of people have taken stones off the beach doesn't make it legal, does it?

Seaweed! You know, I bought some dulse the other day (it makes a great mushroom flavouring) - it was £2.95 for a little bag

Shoreham beach is covered in the stuff at certain times. I missed a huge money-making scam opportunity there!

I didn't know that you can't take stones from a beach.

If the police did come round and have a word (which I doubt), you could just say you honestly had no idea and you'll return them

Where are the garden centres getting their stones from?

Yes seaweed! You could have been rich, the amount of people that I know that feed it to their pets is unreal.

I think garden centres buy them from quarries.

why couldn't the dog take a stick out of the park? What's the reasoning behind that I wonder?

Garden centres will have a permit

Ignorance is unfortunately not an excuse. And of course I've taken some home. I always take a few home with me.

My Boris won't eat anything else but seaweed and dandelion leaves. He's a cheap pet :)

probably stealing them from the same beach as i got mine from ZZZenAgain but under the cover of darkness.

Ir eally cannot see you getting into trouble with the police about this unless you live in a very quiet place where the police are panting to get out and have something, anything to do.

Only thing I can imagine is that the old man who has your address with come round with a gang of friends and pilfer them in the dead of night.

Best keep a look out

The other thing OP is if you are taking shells, you may be deprived animals of their habitats! Hermit crabs use them, obv, and so do other invertebrates/ crustaceans. You definitely shouldn't take lots of shells, ideally not even more than 1-2.

I live in the UK city furthest from any sea but I know that pebble stealing is unlawfull.OP, haven't you got a telly or access to newspapers? Anyway I hope you don't get fined but cop on a bit to the where's and why's of seaside and rural living and educate your kids to do so. Mx.

But they come back! In the tide. Don't they? They crumble off cliffs and the sea smoothes them to pebbles and then they land on the beach as pebbles and people pick them up and then the whole cycle starts again. Surely?

No idea of the law on this, but logic dictates that taking a handful would probably be harmless and no-one would object. Taking enough to landscape a garden or two may be harmful in some areas but may not be in others. I am guessing that rather than a national law there is more likely a local by-law which takes into account that actual environment. I also think it highly unlikely that the police would be interested unless there was evidence you were collecting on an industrial basis.

It is actually illegal.....

Having said that...I have a collection of different pebbles which I've collected from my trips to various coastal resorts.

What? Is this a dream?

If it's stealing, then the pebbles must belong to someone. And unless I'm mistaken, all the pebbles just get left, on the beach, all the time, in higgledy piggledy heaps, without being tidied up or guarded or listed on a pebble-register or anything, which is very careless, and implies that the owner of the pebbles couldn't care less about them, and anyway, you haven't stolen them, you've just environmentally adjusted them.

I'm sure I read a few years ago about someone been prosecuted for this.

Pebbles often form part of a coastal defence scheme...

They are transported from other areas to form a barrier to protect land, lives and property...

Taking one or two wouldn't hurt....but using them to landscape your garden is a bit naughty.

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/somerset/4377203.stm

Do we think there's a black market out there for pebbles?

If everyone was allowed then some people would be taking tonnes and it's detrimental to our coastline. One rule for all.

Think there's a saying about beaches: Leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but memories.

Wahh, this is hilarious! I'm with jenny penny, who are you stealing from? Who owns them? Must go and check these links to see if they've prosecuted anyone for this, what a disgraceful waste of police and court time! Unless doing it on a large scale / reselling of course