A SIDMOUTH couple say they are sick of being ignored - after suffering years of international festival-goers using their garden as a toilet. Tony and Patricia Patston, of Broadway, have a garden that backs on to the main festival car park.

Over the past few years they have appealed to festival organisers and East Devon District Council to help them to stop people trespassing on their garden by using it as a free route to the Knowle and as a public toilet. "Only on Monday, I had to clear-up three piles of excrement. This is a regular occurrence in festival week," said Mr Patston.

The couple say they wrote to festival organisers in July 2000, requesting better toilet facilities on the site and the possibility of providing a toilet in the car park. Mr Patston also asked for a fence to be erected to deter future trespassing. Mr Patston says that although the letters were acknowledged, no action was taken to help him.

The couple, who run a holiday let on their property, said they were living in a health hazard. "We have families with children coming to stay with us, who obviously like to explore around the garden." After complaining to the Environment Agency, Mr Patston said he was told it was too late for a toilet to be erected in the main car park: "These people are creating a filthy muck in our garden and no-one seems to be listening to us.

The couple, who have lived in their house in Sidmouth for 10 years, said despite the problems they have encountered, they have always backed the festival and hoped it would remain in the town. "We have always supported the festival. We just want help to stop people doing these things on our property," said Mr Patston.

A festival official said: "We have provided adequate toilet facilities around the festival, but obviously we do not condone this type of behaviour." The official said that although she was not aware of Mr and Mrs Patston's particular circumstances, every effort was made to ensure residents' privacy was impacted upon as little as.possible, although she said it may not be so important in future years.

"As the festival probably isn't going to be here any more, it's probably not going be an issue in the future."

Monday, July 26, 2004

A guy in the pub called Joe had been having trouble with his next-door neighbour's dog.

The little scruffy mongrel kept getting through a hole in the hedge and crapping in the middle of Joe's immaculate lawn. He complained to the neighbour who did nothing about it - indeed he confessed he found it quite amusing.

So Joe did the following:

He hasn't been troubled since.

Which proves I suppose, that if you look far enough on the Internet you can find almost anything. I only found the Malmesbury site because it referenced 'SeeRed' amongst its favourites!

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