Kids n' conker trees

[HJT40]

The house I rent has a big front garden with conker trees in it. The front gardens to the three houses is open plan and does not look like private land. Now we are in to the conker season we are inundated with kids who for the most part just pick up the conkers, which is fine. However, there are the ones who come armed with big poles and lumps of wood to throw at the trees and cause damage and mess. Also our cars are parked perilously close to the flying objects. I appreciate kids love conkers and we don't want to spoil their fun, but we are left with a mess to clear up, and also the worry that one will fall out of a tree and hurt themselves. I had thought of putting a note on a tree to say that it is private land, but is this asking for more grief?

[MORELLO]

Do you think kids wiil take any notice of a note on a tree? There's not a lot you can do except ride the season out, especially as it's not your land. I'm on edge and twitching the curtains when the kids play footy by my car (!) so I know how you feel... If you make too much fuss you may become a target, and that's all you can do these days - make a fuss. Unfortunately.

[Thunderbird+]

Why not report your concen's to the community police support officers, who are paid by the council to deal with this sort of thing, to free up the real police to concentrate on more serious matters. All the Best Tbird+

[curiosity]

Why not go out and use something relatively safe to knock all the conkers out of the tree yourself and leave them in a bag on the front, that way you can make sure your cars are out of the way. I know you've probably got better things to do, but you will be etched on the minds of these kids, who later in life will tell wonderful stories to their grandchildren about this wonderful lady who would leave conkers for them on the way home from school. Not convinced? Naa I wouldn't bother either. You could though ask a couple of reliable sensible kids on a weekend to work out how to get all the conkers down. Once the rougher ones look up and don't see any they'll stop throwing stuff. Good Luck

[curiosity]

Just to clarify I meant rougher as in boisterous & throwing objects, nothing to do with class, just before the class brigade accuse me of something.