Crab pot saboteur wrecks Jacob’s swing cash earner
Wednesday 20th April 2011, 2:29PM BST.

Jacob, 4, is pictured with Mason, 2, and Abi, 5. (Picture by Tom Tardif, 1126102)
A FOUR-YEAR-OLD boy was left devastated after someone sabotaged the crab pot that he had put down at the St Peter Port lighthouse.
Jacob Jenner-Arnold first put the parlour pot down with his father, Gavin, a month ago as he tried to earn money to buy swings for his new garden.
But three weeks later they found that someone had deliberately cut it.
The damage meant that anything entering the pot would escape.
Jacob’s mother, Hayley, could not understand why anyone would deliberately damage a four-year-old’s pride and joy.
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Crab welfare activists?
I doubt very much the people who did the damage knew it was a 4 yr old’s project. Maybe something larger like a cat got stuck in there?
I really would make a suggestion that the GP photographer tries a different style now and then. “Ok Jacob, give me angry grrrrrr…great, great darling…right let me just find a hi-viz”.
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DD-
I agree, they may as well just buy themselves an angry gentleman and wheel him out for photoshoots instead of using the people involved in the story.
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Well observed dd. Radio G had the crime reduction officer on live this evening. FIve bikes worth a combined total of £2,500 stolen over the last week. Much more significant crimes that this one but because the stolen machines are all owned by adults, presumably, these individual cases of misfortune to not have the “aaah, a poor ickle child is a crime victim” factor that the GP seems to think makes a good story. Pass me the sick bag…
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dd, why would a cat be under the water?
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I rather think that putting a crabpot just below a well known fishing spot was not the best choice. How much tackle has been lost to getting fouled on the pot, maybe even by three year olds.
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…what…I thought cats loved swimming!
Mr G where have you been? I thought you might have joined the exodus
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SB
I’m waiting to see GP Ted in a high viz
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Although I dont agree with the way the GP reports things some days I do applaud the family for teaching their children that money doesnt grow on trees and that if you work for something then its better than if it was just given to you.
I hope they get their pot fixed soon. Perhaps I could get one of the lobsters
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Dad should have known better than place a crab pot adjacent to a well used angling spot – Guernsey doesn’t have very many. That sort of trick is usually done by the odd very selfish boatie who has a million other areas wherein he can drop a pot. One pot denies access to half a dozen anglers. Play the game, mate! Don’t get the kids to whinge for pity.
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Two fish, a cage and three winks to young Jacob for enterprise.
But no treats for Daddy Jenner-Arnold for laying it under the SPP lighthouse. Silly Billy Daddy!
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This looks like a load of tosh to me. Are we seriously supposed to believe that this 4 year old had any involvement with his dad’s crab pot project? Was it his idea? Did he make it? OK, he might have been there when has dad put the pot out and perhaps the kids do want a new swing. But to make the poor nippers who can’t afford a bit of rope and a plank the victims of this is a stretch too far. As far as I’m concerned this remains a case of possible criminal damage to one crab pot, not a massive human drama. I feel more sorry for the crabs – and I’d stick them in a sandwich!
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This brings back memories of the time when my uncle got caught with two undersized lobsters at Rousse pier
A Sea Fisheries officer who had it in for him over a stolen girlfriend or some such pounced on him as he carried his catch up towards his car
“Got you bang to rights at last” ,he said
“What do you mean?” asked my uncle
“I can tell without even measuring them that your catch is undersize.You’re nicked”
“They’re not my catch, they’re my pets and I’ve just taken them for their evening swim” replied my uncle “I’ll prove it to you if you want”
“OK then.Let’s see you prove it” said the officer
So my uncle walked back down to the pier head and gently put both lobsters in the water,watched by the officer
“What happens now?” said the officer
“Well I usually sit quietly here while I have a fag and then I just whistle and they swim back to me” said my uncle
He finished his fag and a couple of minutes later the officer asked him if he was going to whistle
“What for?” asked my uncle
“To call the undersized lobsters back” said the officer
“What undersized lobsters?” said my uncle as he walked off to his car
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Ray – great story. I’ve heard variants of it before. If it actually happened, that would be very funny – and prevented your uncle from becoming a criminal!
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I think it is great that the kids are trying to earn money to buy somthing for themselfs
Why do people allways have to pick on others on this page. I agree there are worse things that is happening in Guernsey but give the family some credit for bring up there children correctly and not by dragging them up.
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More like someone’s got annoyed with the placement of his pot, with the breakwater being popular for fishing I don’t know many who wouldn’t get annoyed with their hooks getting stuck.
Not going to lie though, I love the way the guernsey press report this, the overly emotive language always brings a smile to my face. Next time spend the £50 the pot cost to buy the swings and save yourself some hassle….. or very simply JUST REPAIR THE POT! imagine the next article “Fisherman loses net, Blames Al-Qaeda” or “Man loses bus card -Family Devastated”
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I am pleased Jacob can’t read. I think its great that a father and son are spending time together doing something productive rather than another kid being sat in front of a computer screen if you can think of anywhere else thats safe for him to put a pot down without the use of a boat please do feel free to suggest it and for your information not that it needs justifying the pot was well away from the fishermen at the lighthouse
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