Sandston, VA – A man who was tired of children trespassing on his property installed an electric fence around his yard to keep the children out.
Parents who live in that neighborhood became very concerned about the proximity of the fence to the bus stop, according to WWBT-TV.
Bryan Tucker, the homeowner, put up the electric fence on Tuesday morning, which was also the first day of school.
Tucker said children were trespassing on his property.
“We’ve been warning people for years,” Tucker said, according to WWBT. “We called transportation and they refused to do anything about it. They said it was my responsibility if the kids get hurt on my land and that I need to tell them to get off my land and stay in the street. I’m not in charge of other people’s children.”
Tucker said he put the fence up to protect his property and to keep children from walking in his yard and leaving trash on it.
"This morning children were trespassing and vandalizing and nothing was done," Tucker said, according to WWBT.
WRIC-TV reported the fence was "just a few inches" away from a bus stop where children waited.
Parents called the police, which led to the county getting involved.
Henrico County Public Works Director Steve Yob told Tucker on Tuesday he was in violation of the city’s ordinances by building the fence through an easement next to the roadway.
"The code says not to erect, construct, place or maintain any bumps, fences ... in a road, a ditch made to drain the road, or an off drain from ditches," Yob said, according to WWBT. "Engineers did research and the gentleman’s yard starts further off the road from where the fence is. Where that fence was put is clearly county right-of-way."
Tucker took down the fence to comply with the county.
There were also concern raised over the lack of signage to warn that the fence was electric.
There are two private property signs posted on a tree in the front yard of Tucker’s home that read, “POSTED: Private Property – hunting, fishing, trapping or trespassing for any purpose is strictly forbidden. Violators will be prosecuted.”
Tucker said there was a sign on the electrical box. But the box had a sign that said “Solar Intellishock” but does not have a warning about the electric fence, according to WWBT.
One anonymous parent complained about the fence.
“My daughter walked out and said he’s got a fence up,” a neighbor said, according to WWBT. “Then someone said it was electric and I said ‘whoa no!’ If something happens to one of those kids they’re going to have lot of angry parents.”
Another parent was concerned about accidents.
“What if there’s a little kid, two or three years old riding their tricycle and they fall and they get shocked?” a neighbor said, according to WWBT. “That’s not going to be OK.”
You can see KGW's interview with the man in the video below:
