People shooting onto C&C Club site ... who cares?

[BaileyNiggles]

Staying at Barnard Castle start of the month, went out to walk the dog at around 9pm round a field towards the back end, but still very much part of, the site and from a farm track running parallel with the site were two or more characters firing air rifles (or POSSIBLY silenced .22 live fire rifles) onto the field and up into a tree on the club land alongside the fence. They had powerful red torches seemingly fixed to the rifles which dramatically danced and scanned around the field then they'd stop moving and you'd hear the shot and a pellet hit whatever before they excitedly carried on. Knowing what it was I turned tail, but anyone else or even me when you think about it could very easily have been hit in the dark and possibly seriously injured.

I chose to walk the dog a different route, but concerned about this I walked round to the staff caravan area by the front gate to see if there was any sign of life without unduly disturbing them as it didn't seem an emergency as such, then finding nobody around but having my smartphone on me I messaged the site via Facebook. I know I know ... Facebook isn't good old black and white formal letter writing that stands up in court ... but then again the C&C Club do put themselves on there, the site has its own Facebook page so they can't blame me for thinking it a means of communication they themselves advocate and must therefore expect some correspondence on and you would presume staff onsite periodically check their site's messages.

So ... I ping them a message reporting the incident. Got an automated reply to say page is not regularly monitored. …. contact us via http://www.Facebook.com/thefriendlyclub.

So I do that and a couple of days later I get “… Sorry to hear that there were people shooting around the Barnard Castle Site. This is not something we have been notified about before so I will pass it along to our sites team for them to investigate. Many thanks, Lauren”, to which I replied “Happy for you to pass my number on if easier to explain. 07XXX XXXXXX".

Now, the thing is this: I can add very little more than I've just told you all here. But quite how are the site to "investigate" on hearing only a brief message third-hand from their friend Lauren when I would have expected them to have shown some more concern for such a serious incident and at the very least rung me to thank me or more practically to chat it through to see if I can shed any more light to aid their "investigation". And there it would have ended more properly and amicably I suppose. They ring me, I go away happy content that they appear to care and have at least noted it. But nope. Not a sausage. Seems they don't give a damn and a problem ignored is a problem that never happened. What, though, if it’s a regular thing? What if someone onsite gets shot, loses an eye or at the very least a nasty sting and a messed up holiday? Doesn't that make their disinterest this time around more open to negligence or at least a severe moral and customer service failing?

Irritated and indignant over the C&C Club's apparent indifference I thought, right, well this needs at least some attention from someone, so I emailed the local police and guess what .... my setting the email to request a read receipt got me receipt alright ... a "your message was deleted without being read" receipt!!! Unbelievable! Maybe, like the Government and the BBC, they're only interested in "far right", "terrorist", "muslim", "Brexit", and "Trump". I obviously didn't use the right buzzword!

Last gasp before laying the matter finally off my chest here was to amuse myself 'tweeting' C&C Club President Julia Bradbury to ask who within C&C Club might be more interested than those onsite or this Lauren seemed to me, yet she (in what seems to be a now deleted tweet in reply) simply said "sounds concerning".

So all in all, yes, a possibly one off incident that has now long passed in the mists of time, but I'm pretty appalled at the indifference shown by all concerned. Maybe someone from Practical Caravan magazine is on here and can pick this up, not because I care or need worry any more but it’s a case in point perhaps as to the general level (or not) to which the C&C Club care about what occurs on their sites nationwide?

 

[Craigyoung]

A bit concerning as we use that site a lot ! Will keep my ears open next time .

 

[otherclive]

I really don’t understand why you didn’t make more effort to speak to the site managers. Albeit not an emergency I’m sure the direct approach would have been better, even at that time of night they would unlikely to have been in bed. They would probably have the telephone number of the local farmer and/or police too. Better than social media or email. At C&C hq I can’t imagine how many emails Lauren gets per day so how is she to discriminate between your concern and someone else’s concerns in terms of priority. Social media has its uses but as you found out it can be unresponsive to some issues.

 

[BaileyNiggles]

Social media wouldn't ordinarily be my first port of call, though as an aside companies and organisations are increasingly pushing their social media presence so the implication is they must increasingly accept it as a two way street... even if the response is normally a cheery fobbing off by even sometimes a third-PR firm with no intimate knowledge of their employer. But back to the issue in hand, it was.a balanced judgement ... time of day, were they firing at caravans or cars, was there any sign/encouragement and general guidance on disturbing site staff out of hours, was it reasonable to expect site staff to check their own site's Facebook page at least once a day, and so on.

All that said, the subsequent response strikes me still as woefully lacking when the C&C Club must surely have at least some structure and people running it besides this Lauren and members doing their season's shifts as site staff?

 

[Dodger524]

I suggest that the correct response would have been a 999 call to the police.

 

[Kevin2306]

Whilst not knowing the site or the area, these people may have been shooting on private land with full permission to do so.
I live in the sticks and quite often will see hunters around the woods and fields, what you describe is called 'lamping' and is a way to shoot Corvids, wood pigeon etc. Nothing Illegal about it, providing on land where permission has been granted and not shooting into an area where the public are or likely to be.
Sorry you have had a bad experience.

Kevin

 

[Thingy]

If they were anything more than air rifles, they would have to be licenced and those licences are not easy to come by. Most genuine users would protect those licences and not do anything stupid. A simple shout across may have been enough to do the trick. It may not have occured to them that they were firing towards the public.

You also mentioned about them excitedly carrying on, which doesnt sound to me like anything moe than kids, else why make a noise when hunting? In that case, ringing the police would have been the most sensible and obvious option. The wardens too are on site for a reason. Knocking them up at any hour is a valid option where a serious issue or emergency has arisen.

I have to say had it been me, I wouldnt have let it go so easily and certainly wouldnt have wasted time on social media.

 

[Raywood]

At 9 pm the site staff would still be up and I would have spoken to them. If this was a one off then there is little that could be done afterwards, but assuming there was a danger the site staff could then have called the Police. I doubt anything could be done after that as the people concerned would have disappeared, even next morning would have been too late although it might have helped the staff keep an eye out for the future.

 

[Hutch]

With HMP / YOI Deerbolt situated very close by, I would have thought that the Police, would have been more interested, I would have mentioned it to the wardens in the morning. But being in the country, a couple of lads shooting game as Kevin said, is most likely.

 

[Craigyoung]

Hutch mentioned in a previous post about the prison being opposite for young offenders , when we were there about 4 weeks ago (the site by the way not the prison) it was quite noisy & loudest I have heard it in a long time.

 

[Hutch]

Hutch mentioned in a previous post about the prison being opposite for young offenders , when we were there about 4 weeks ago (the site by the way not the prison) it was quite noisy & loudest I have heard it in a long time.

Sorry craig and others, I have checked and seen YOI Deerbolt has closed down, but it was Extremely near to the new site of the C& MC site.

 

[Brads]

Why would anyone show an interest in legal shooting ?

And speculating that it may have been otherwise because you didn`t like it, doesn`t justify any action.

Shooting takes place every night all over the UK. When you are in a rural area you have to expect rural tasks to be carried out.

 

[Hutch]

Brads, not everyone are used to folk going out hunting for their supper, and can unnerve them . We live in rural area but some new locals, look strangely at you if you walk in to a pub with a brace of pheasants for a friend.

 

[ProfJohnL]

If the weapons were being pointed at any part of the caravan site or people on the site, then it should be reported to the police. Imediately, Even if they were air rifles, they still represent a dangerous weapon and could easily cause injury or damage.

Whilst it would because to inform the site warden, if the activity took place outside of the caravan sites boundaries, the site warden has no authority to intervene.

 

[BaileyNiggles]

Police weren't interested. Got a deleted without being read receipt to my email.

 

[BaileyNiggles]

Why would anyone show an interest in legal shooting ?

And speculating that it may have been otherwise because you didn`t like it, doesn`t justify any action.

Shooting takes place every night all over the UK. When you are in a rural area you have to expect rural tasks to be carried out.

So you think it likely the Camping & Caravan Club gave permission for people to shoot onto their land, in the close vicinity of campers?

 

[Raywood]

Why would anyone show an interest in legal shooting ?

And speculating that it may have been otherwise because you didn`t like it, doesn`t justify any action.

Shooting takes place every night all over the UK. When you are in a rural area you have to expect rural tasks to be carried out.

So you think it likely the Camping & Caravan Club gave permission for people to shoot onto their land, in the close vicinity of campers?

I do not see the club giving permission and assume the shooting was done without permission or was on land not in the clubs hands.

 

[Parksy]

Why would anyone show an interest in legal shooting ?

And speculating that it may have been otherwise because you didn`t like it, doesn`t justify any action.

Shooting takes place every night all over the UK. When you are in a rural area you have to expect rural tasks to be carried out.

So you think it likely the Camping & Caravan Club gave permission for people to shoot onto their land, in the close vicinity of campers?

It doesn't really make much difference what any of us here on this forum think, the police don't appear to be overly concerned and the clubs lack of response indicates that they are not unduly concerned either.
If individual caravanners share your concern it's a simple matter for us to vote with our towing hitch and to choose a different site, so thanks for bringing the matter to forum members notice.
Practical Caravan editorial staff are unlikely to become involved, contrary to popular misconception they don't act as a consumer rights pressure group and intervention with the policies of a separate organisation or company is not part of their remit.

 

[Craigyoung]

Sorry craig and others, I have checked and seen YOI Deerbolt has closed down, but it was Extremely near to the new site of the C& MC site.

It has not closed down as my mate is a prison guard there .

 

[Thingy]

Easy to blame the recidivists at Deerbolt, I somehow doubt they are supplied with firearms and allowed out at night, unless its G4S running it of course.

As has been said, its a country area and country persuits will ensue. We get the hunt directly behind out house. Not something I personally agree with but its something I have to live with.

The only reason I would have suggested the warden is that he will probably be known by the police, in a good way of course, and they may have taken his approach more seriously.

 

[Hoomer]

Ok, this is easy to stop.

If you are using a firearm, even on your own land, and it causes ‘alarm or distress’ to a member of the public you are breaking the law, simple as that. If a round from your firearm leaves your land, it’s an absolute offence with no defence,

Dail 999 and tell the police rounds appear to be directed onto a public space and they will be round in a jiffy and stop it. And if you report a firearms incident, (air rifles are cinsidered firearms under the act), the Police have to investigate.