British police are investigating whether the owner of a portable flooring empire is breaking the law by threatening to attack trespassers with a 30-foot-tall Roman catapult filled with chicken manure.Joe Weston-Webb, owner of Grumpy Joe’s Flooring, claims rival companies have tried to burn his property down out of jealousy that he won a contract to provide flooring for the BBC show "Strictly Come Dancing." He has protected his land with security fencing, motion-sensor lights and TV cameras, but police are concerned about the catapult as well as a cannon that shoots railroad ties at intruders.
Weston-Webb previously used the cannon to shoot his wife Mary across the Avon River when the pair belonged to a daredevil troupe. But "she’s 54 now and far too big to fit into the cannon in any case," he told reporters.
Police in the River Soar valley in Nottinghamshire – known locally as Soar Bottom – say they would prefer that Grumpy Joe’s relied on "conventional security techniques." But for now, the property still has a sign that reads: "Warning: These premises are protected by smart-poo and railway projectiles."
