{"id":1579,"date":"2026-05-10T16:17:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-10T16:17:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/retiree-sick-of-cars-ruining-his-lawn-invents-fence-that-can-puncture-tyres\/"},"modified":"2026-05-10T16:17:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T16:17:08","slug":"retiree-sick-of-cars-ruining-his-lawn-invents-fence-that-can-puncture-tyres","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/retiree-sick-of-cars-ruining-his-lawn-invents-fence-that-can-puncture-tyres\/","title":{"rendered":"Retiree sick of cars ruining his lawn invents fence that can puncture tyres"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"article-body\">\n<h2 class=\"LeadText_lead-text__wd_PA __className_5699b0\" data-testid=\"leadtext\">Kevin Pringle became increasingly furious after cars left &#8216;muddy trenches&#8217; along his grass in the quiet cul-de-sac<\/h2>\n<p><button type=\"button\" class=\"SlideViewerButton_slide-viewer-button__BDJoG\" aria-label=\"Open image viewer\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-controls=\"image-lightbox\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-embed__0T8WX ImageEmbed_image-lead__Ti3qQ\" data-testid=\"leadimage\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-articleid=\"37136711\">\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-container__2AIQm\">\n<figure class=\"Figure_figure__Uce4f\" style=\"--figure-aspect-ratio:1.5\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Kevin Pringle at his home in Milton Keynes\" loading=\"eager\"  src=\"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0_retiree-sick-of-1536561.jpg\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"ImageCaption_caption__j7HRu\" data-testid=\"image-caption\">\n<p aria-label=\"Kevin Pringle at his home in Milton Keynes\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">Kevin Pringle at his home in Milton Keynes<cite aria-label=\"Image: SWNS\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-credit__wlx1W\" data-testid=\"caption-credit\">(Image: SWNS)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<p><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">An ex-prison officer has created an innocent-looking garden fence designed to stop nightmare parking &#8211; with tiny spikes hidden inside to deflate tyres. Kevin Pringle, 64, patented his own simple but effective product to keep cars from mounting and damaging grass verges after a series of terrible driving outside his home.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">He installed the fence, which costs around \u00a340 for half a metre, on his front garden measuring four-foot-wide outside his semi-detached home. Kevin said he had been repeatedly relaying the ground with top soil and grass seed after cars left &#8220;muddy trenches&#8221; along his grass in the quiet cul-de-sac.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">The fence has secret spikes which activate when a car hits and slowly deflate its tyres, acting the same way as a police-used stinger. The retiree said the barrier could be used by councils to stop illegal traveller encampments from setting up on grassland and <a target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk\/sport\/cricket\/\" rel=\"follow\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"\">cricket<\/a> pitches &#8211; or by estates, schools and hotels.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Kevin, who lives in Milton Keynes, said: &#8220;The quality of driving and parking has without a doubt gotten worse in recent years. Section 34 of the Road Traffic Act says its an offence to drive anywhere other a designated carriageway but you see illegal parking everywhere.<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"image-group\"><button type=\"button\" class=\"SlideViewerButton_slide-viewer-button__BDJoG\" aria-label=\"Open image viewer\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-controls=\"image-lightbox\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-embed__0T8WX false\" data-testid=\"imageembed-37136732\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-articleid=\"37136732\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"image\">\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-container__2AIQm\">\n<figure class=\"Figure_figure__Uce4f\" style=\"--figure-aspect-ratio:1.5\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Kevin's 'stinger' fence invention \" loading=\"lazy\"  src=\"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0_retiree-sick-of-1536553.jpg\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"ImageCaption_caption__j7HRu\" data-testid=\"image-caption\">\n<p aria-label=\"&#10;Kevin's 'stinger' fence invention \" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">\nKevin&#8217;s &#8216;stinger&#8217; fence invention <cite aria-label=\"Image: SWNS\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-credit__wlx1W\" data-testid=\"caption-credit\">(Image: SWNS)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<p><\/button><\/div>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;Because nothing is done about it, people don&#8217;t care and I don&#8217;t understand why they don&#8217;t realise the effect they&#8217;re having. When I searched for solutions, the only suggestion I found was to place big boulders around the edge.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;While this does deter vandals, since they know they\u2019ll risk damaging their vehicle, it creates two new problems &#8211; it makes lawn care much harder and the boulders themselves are not very attractive.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;I became determined to find an answer that would both keep the verge tidy and make maintenance easier.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><span data-testid=\"readmore\" class=\"ReadMore_readmore-prefix__xS44r __className_877b99\">READ MORE<!-- -->: <span class=\"ReadMore_readmore-link__eF9pN\"><a target=\"_blank\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" data-tmdatatrack=\"read-more\" data-tmdatatrack-articleid=\"37136145\" data-tmdatatrack-source=\"editorial\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk\/travel\/ryanair-plane-diversion-leads-no-37136145\" tabindex=\"0\">Ryanair plane diversion leads to &#8216;no fly&#8217; warning<\/a><\/span><\/span><span data-testid=\"readmore\" class=\"ReadMore_readmore-prefix__xS44r __className_877b99\">READ MORE<!-- -->: <span class=\"ReadMore_readmore-link__eF9pN\"><a target=\"_blank\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" data-tmdatatrack=\"read-more\" data-tmdatatrack-articleid=\"37135350\" data-tmdatatrack-source=\"editorial\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk\/news\/health\/mums-intuition-told-something-wrong-37135350\" tabindex=\"0\">Mum&#8217;s &#8216;intuition&#8217; told her something was wrong after seeing photo of her daughter<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">His picket-style Smart Fence, tried and tested outside Kevin\u2019s own home, has secret spikes that activate when a car hits and slowly deflate its tyres. The former prison officer said he had been plagued by illegal parking tearing up his own lawn which led to his &#8220;lightbulb moment&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">He said: &#8220;When I first bought the house, the grass verge that goes to the road was in a bit of a mess.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;I cut the grass and trimmed the hedge. Once I&#8217;d made it neat and tidy, I found people were using it as an extension to the carriageway.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;I&#8217;d seen people parking on it, mounting it and using it as part of the turning space, leaving out the soil and leaving a muddy trench. I had to go out there multiple times with a topsoil and grass seed.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"image-group\"><button type=\"button\" class=\"SlideViewerButton_slide-viewer-button__BDJoG\" aria-label=\"Open image viewer\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-controls=\"image-lightbox\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-embed__0T8WX false\" data-testid=\"imageembed-37136737\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-articleid=\"37136737\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"image\">\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-container__2AIQm\">\n<figure class=\"Figure_figure__Uce4f\" style=\"--figure-aspect-ratio:1.33\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Kevin became fed up of people ruining his garden\" loading=\"lazy\"  src=\"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0_retiree-sick-of-1536544.jpg\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"ImageCaption_caption__j7HRu\" data-testid=\"image-caption\">\n<p aria-label=\"Kevin became fed up of people ruining his garden\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">Kevin became fed up of people ruining his garden<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<p><\/button><\/div>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Kevin spent three years researching different designs as he wanted to make sure his fence was not susceptible to accidental damage such as &#8220;hurting little Johnny on his bicycle&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">While research how to make the spikes &#8220;disappear&#8221;, he realised they needed protecting. He explained: &#8220;The plastic fence covers the spikes and the only way to expose the spikes is with enough weight on top of them to break the plastic fencing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;The plastic will break along the perforations exposing the fence supports which are hollow tubes with a chamfered top edge.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">\u201cThis means if an attempt is made to use a motor vehicle to vandalize a lawn or verge the driver will no longer be able to just drive away leaving the damage for the land owner to repair.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;Because you can lift the spikes and fence out of the ground, you can then cut the grass as only the base plate which is at ground level.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"image-group\"><button type=\"button\" class=\"SlideViewerButton_slide-viewer-button__BDJoG\" aria-label=\"Open image viewer\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-controls=\"image-lightbox\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-embed__0T8WX false\" data-testid=\"imageembed-37136740\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-articleid=\"37136740\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"image\">\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-container__2AIQm\">\n<figure class=\"Figure_figure__Uce4f\" style=\"--figure-aspect-ratio:1.5\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The spikes were inspired by a police 'stinger'\" loading=\"lazy\"  src=\"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0_retiree-sick-of-1536554.jpg\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"ImageCaption_caption__j7HRu\" data-testid=\"image-caption\">\n<p aria-label=\"The spikes were inspired by a police 'stinger'\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">The spikes were inspired by a police &#8216;stinger&#8217;<cite aria-label=\"Image: SWNS\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-credit__wlx1W\" data-testid=\"caption-credit\">(Image: SWNS)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<p><\/button><\/div>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Kevin believes his patented design would be significant in preventing unauthorised encampments and would love to see local authorities and councils put it into use.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">He pointed out his own council, Milton Keynes, had invested \u00a3250,000 over the last five years to protect sites with barriers such as concrete blocks or mounds of earth.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">He said: &#8220;I read news articles almost daily about where this product could be used. Its use for stopping unauthorised encampments would be phenomenal &#8211; and it would be cheaper.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"image-group\"><button type=\"button\" class=\"SlideViewerButton_slide-viewer-button__BDJoG\" aria-label=\"Open image viewer\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-controls=\"image-lightbox\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-embed__0T8WX false\" data-testid=\"imageembed-37136744\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-articleid=\"37136744\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"image\">\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-container__2AIQm\">\n<figure class=\"Figure_figure__Uce4f\" style=\"--figure-aspect-ratio:1.5\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"It looks much like a normal garden fence\" loading=\"lazy\"  src=\"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0_retiree-sick-of-1536564.jpg\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"ImageCaption_caption__j7HRu\" data-testid=\"image-caption\">\n<p aria-label=\"It looks much like a normal garden fence\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">It looks much like a normal garden fence<cite aria-label=\"Image: SWNS\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-credit__wlx1W\" data-testid=\"caption-credit\">(Image: SWNS)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<p><\/button><\/div>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Kevin had bought a Hyundai Getz on its last legs to test the fence&#8217;s ability to puncture tyres and hopes to see his prototype rolled out widely in future.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">He said his Smart Fence would protect homeowners from bad drivers absconding the scene and had sought advice around if the user could be held liable.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Kevin added: &#8220;If I try and jimmy your backdoor with a screwdriver and it breaks, you don&#8217;t have to pay me for damages.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;Tearing up a garden is criminal damage. If you&#8217;re committing criminal damage and you damage your tools such as a car, it is your responsibility.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">A Milton Keynes highways spokesperson said: &#8220;Under the law, items can\u2019t be placed on public highway land without the proper authorisation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;Items may only be placed on the highway where the appropriate permissions have been granted and suitable safety measures are in place to protect all road users.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk\/lifestyle\/motoring\/retiree-sick-cars-ruining-lawn-37136703\" target=\"_blank\">Source link<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kevin Pringle became increasingly furious after cars left &#8216;muddy trenches&#8217; along his grass in the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1580,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1579","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778429828_0_retiree-sick-of-1536561.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1579","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1579"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1579\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}