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Vandalism at sites

Jedi_Master

Jedi_Master

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Just looking at Arnies Airsoft news and there was a newsletter article from Gunman Airsoft saying that their Tuddenham site had recently experienced some arson destroying a fort as well as timber for building.

Is it a common occurrence for sites to suffer vandalism? I think I read on this forum that Epson tunnels had also previously had problems with people breaking in and causing damage.

 
yeah i got that email, Police to have a word with local youths as well...

Spoke to a guy at Urban, the old RAF base has basically had anything of value stolen, worry is it makes it dangerous for people at times as your not always aware of what isn't under foot that may have been there a few weeks before, as i saw a guy slip down a hole where a small hydrant cover used to be, and that was my first game, kinda makes you have your wits about you when running around at times i guess

Should think RIFT Cottenham should be fine, its got a few house near by and doesn't have any red diesel on site...i think!

 
Airsoft sites are getting broken into alot now, the 2 sites where I started had airsoft & paintball stuff nicked recently plus a local golf course but so far nothing was vandalised

 
Of the 4 sites I have played at most 3 have had vandalism problems.

One of these has a fantastic community feel with players regularly contributing materials and time to help put things right and improve. They even managed to get 20 or 30 guys together to do a litter sweep one Saturday in before spring set in, apparently they did this most years to keep litter down across the site. Most of the structures they built or relied on required concreting into the ground and/or were built from non flammable materials, large earth embankments and bunkers etc. They also had a group of players who either camped out every so often, had a few beers and patrolled the area or some of the locals would take their dogs for walks in the area at random times. The instances of vandalism slowly dropped as the vandals got the message they might get caught by groups of large guys in camo who would hand them in to the police.

One of the 3 was trying to get that sort of thing going but the owner couldn't decide what he wanted built, eventually some of the players took it into their own hands and started building. But their efforts were not appreciated by the owner so they jacked it in. I offered one of my days off and spent a significant amount of time to collecting materials but I spent the build day trying to get the owner to tell me what I could/couldn't do. Eventually we were told to dump the materials in a pile where to my knowledge they are rotting. I haven't been back since.

Gunman Tuddenham is the 3rd and by far the worst damage. There was a large and very interesting box fort which is now ash. There was from the sounds of things a significant amount of materials put aside to build new features. which are again ash. And to top it all, because this area was made from packing crates and recycled materials it is now littered with rusty charred nails and wire making it unplayable until someone gets out and clears it all up.

The one that didn't seem to have vandal problems was the sandpit, but I guess that comes with having a large fence round the whole place and full time security on site.

I guess they are easy targets what with being fairly remote and not overlooked by the very nature of what the site owners are looking for. I seem to remember Plymouth used to have a problem with tomb stoning, those kids who got caught were offered diving lessons free or cautioned. It reduced the problem. Maybe something similar would be a good idea, ie do a game for all the kids in the local area free every so often, that way they might take a bit more interest in the site in a more positive light.

 
Of the 5+ sites ive played at in the course of a year, ive yet to see any instances of vandalism. Funny that, considering how vandals would go out of there way to a remote site to cause damage for giggles to piss people off. Saying that, the idea of a weekly night patrol comes to mind to scare em off. but runs the risk of someone getting hurt eventually, be it being shot in the face or a brawl kicks off when they wanna fight with a guy dressed as a bush.

Although the thought of a gang of 5-6 idiots wandering on-site midgame amidst an 80+ player assault does appeal to me....if concentrated fire was involved :D

 
Fortunately all of the sites I go to have never suffered from vandalism. Although what used to be my go to site has sadly been left to fall apart over the past couple of years and the standard of games has followed, makes me think of the broken window theory.

 
One the marshal told me The Malls been broken into a fair few times, they've arrived in the morning to find an open door or similar. Mostly 'urban explorers', and no-ones burnt the place down yet.

Most the vandalism there seems to be done by muppets during games, trying to shoot out lights etc.

Also told me an amusing tale of a 'terminator' game, where the terminator spotted someone in casual clothing in the basement and shot at them. The guy ran off so the terminator followed him, and got to one the fire-escapes which was open. Their guess is it was another explorer! i chuckle at the thought of what must have gone through that guys mind when he broke into an abandoned building, walked round the first corner and encountered a very realistic looking terminator holding a rifle. Personally after escaping my first step would have been to check i hadn't traveled in time when stepping though the door...

 
The guys that used to stay on site in the evenings were told categorically by the site owners that they were not allowed to have any RIF's or IF's, and no training knives etc. If they did it they did it armed with nothing more than a bright torch and a mobile phone.

Although a few did run night games from time to time. I can just imagine the brown trouser moment when a vandal gets caught by what appears to be several heavily armed men in cam cream.

 
RabidNinja64 said:
I was thinking a complimentary lease for a 1 bedroom flat, complete with a burberry cap! Saying that, Capture the Flat sounds like a good chav defense game ^_^
Click to expand...
Or... Chavs defending the fuel depot so their old Civics and Clio Sports have somewhere to 'fill-up' with £8 worth of petrol on a Friday for their bi-weekly 'cruise'.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
skarra333 said:
Or... Chavs defending the fuel depot so their old Civics and Clio Sports have somewhere to 'fill-up' with £8 worth of petrol on a Friday for their bi-weekly 'cruise'.
Click to expand...
Meanwhile, with this going off in the background!

 
the site I use takes safety very seriously but not security. There is a gate where the track meets the local road but not a high gate and the only things left on site are the materials for building. No equipment is left but they only run game days once a fortnight so I don't blame them for a light approach to security. There is a paintball site using the same access dirt track but they rarely seem to be there so they wont bother about security either. They do brief us on what to do if a rambler wanders in during a game but break ins have never been mentioned

 
School holidays + unsecured woodland or premises = destructive bored little buggers

There have also been a few issues with our travelling friends at some sites.

 
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