I
Ian Cloke
Guest
A SQUAD of burly bailiffs is to patrol Britain?s riverbanks after a spate of attacks on anglers.
Fish poaching has also become a big problem as organised crimelords, often from Eastern Europe, muscle in.
Now the authorities have been forced to strike back with officials armed with coshes, anti-stab vests and handcuffs.
The Environment Agency?s squad of 150 High Impact Fisheries Enforcement officers will have similar powers of arrest as police and be trained in self-defence and undercover operations.
In the most recent attack, animal rights terrorists stabbed an angler with a syringe. The victim, who also had a broom handle smashed over his head, will have to endure months of medical checks to ensure he was not infected by the needle.
The attack at a fishery in Lancashire is seen as the most brutal so far on innocent fishermen by activists who want to get fishing outlawed.
The gang struck after calling off plans to disrupt a grouse shoot and the violence was witnessed by angler Lucy Belson, 36, a trauma nurse.
She said: ?I saw this large group and the next thing I knew they were throwing rocks at the rod and yelling ?Fishing?s over for the day ? do you want it the easy way or the hard way? If it?s the hard way you?re going to get wet. Pack up and go?. They started smashing up the little wooden signs and throwing them into the water and shouting anti-fishing stuff.
?They then moved on to two men who were fishing and I could see there was a bit of an altercation going on. It was so frightening because they all had masks.?
Violence on the riverbank is becoming an increasing feature with armed crime gangs a particular problem
Prosecutions for stealing salmon and eels for Far Eastern markets have doubled over the past four years.
Fisheries will pay around ?500 for a 20lb carp to be let loose on its waters, while recently a 44lb common carp was legally purchased for ?8,500.
HIFE project executive Steve Moore said: ?Ensuring our fisheries are protected is not the job it used to be. Environmental crime does not take place nine till five, Monday to Friday, and is often committed in an organised and structured way.
?Officers involved in fisheries enforcement have reported incidents of abuse and threatening behaviour, some suspects carry knives and occasionally we encounter firearms.
?Issuing protective equipment to well-trained staff allows them to protect
fisheries effectively, while keeping the public, offenders and the officers safe.?
Fish poaching has also become a big problem as organised crimelords, often from Eastern Europe, muscle in.
Now the authorities have been forced to strike back with officials armed with coshes, anti-stab vests and handcuffs.
The Environment Agency?s squad of 150 High Impact Fisheries Enforcement officers will have similar powers of arrest as police and be trained in self-defence and undercover operations.
In the most recent attack, animal rights terrorists stabbed an angler with a syringe. The victim, who also had a broom handle smashed over his head, will have to endure months of medical checks to ensure he was not infected by the needle.
The attack at a fishery in Lancashire is seen as the most brutal so far on innocent fishermen by activists who want to get fishing outlawed.
The gang struck after calling off plans to disrupt a grouse shoot and the violence was witnessed by angler Lucy Belson, 36, a trauma nurse.
She said: ?I saw this large group and the next thing I knew they were throwing rocks at the rod and yelling ?Fishing?s over for the day ? do you want it the easy way or the hard way? If it?s the hard way you?re going to get wet. Pack up and go?. They started smashing up the little wooden signs and throwing them into the water and shouting anti-fishing stuff.
?They then moved on to two men who were fishing and I could see there was a bit of an altercation going on. It was so frightening because they all had masks.?
Violence on the riverbank is becoming an increasing feature with armed crime gangs a particular problem
Prosecutions for stealing salmon and eels for Far Eastern markets have doubled over the past four years.
Fisheries will pay around ?500 for a 20lb carp to be let loose on its waters, while recently a 44lb common carp was legally purchased for ?8,500.
HIFE project executive Steve Moore said: ?Ensuring our fisheries are protected is not the job it used to be. Environmental crime does not take place nine till five, Monday to Friday, and is often committed in an organised and structured way.
?Officers involved in fisheries enforcement have reported incidents of abuse and threatening behaviour, some suspects carry knives and occasionally we encounter firearms.
?Issuing protective equipment to well-trained staff allows them to protect
fisheries effectively, while keeping the public, offenders and the officers safe.?