Instant contradiction stolen from Extreme Pedantry on Facebook
As an ex Farmer I find this both offensive and unprofessional, the contradiction is in the wider picture, the grey pole presumably has a waymark indicating a Right of Way, so perhaps the sign should have read Public Right of Way. The Stile is probably the property of the County Council, so the sign despite it's aggressive nature is there to intimidate. Any obstruction of a right of way is a criminal offense, any deviation onto open countryside needs proof of damage to make it an offense, so where in law is it written that there is private land. This an assumption based on the need to have a Right of Way to access parts of the countryside for our leisure, which in turn is assumed to be a trivial pursuit in relation to the activities of a Freeholder of land.
I think the sign is trespassing on public property, is there a risk that I might miss my footing on the stepboard on the far side of the stile, obscured by the sign, having been distracted by the nature of the content of the implied warning.
As an ex NFU office holder, I find this Extreme Pedantry extremely bad taste, bad language in Public Relation terms and likely to cause the image of the producer of food from our countryside damage. My concern would be that a sign writer is marketing these signs, possibly at agricultural shows, which is capturing a sentiment of land ownership over that of the pursuit of good husbandry.
