An eccentric businessman who set up a 30ft dung-firing catapult on his land to deter intruders has been burgled after police warned him that it would be illegal for him to use the weapon. Joe Weston-Webb, a former travelling showman who also owns a human cannon and an “exploding coffin”, decided to adopt such an unorthodox method of protecting his property last year after a series of break-ins and an arson attack. Joe Weston-Webb, a former travelling showman who also owns a human cannon and an “exploding coffin”, decided to adopt such an unorthodox method of protecting his property last year after a series of break-ins and an arson attack. The catapult, based on the design of a Roman boulder-throwing ballista, was originally built for a series of unsuccessful attempts to fire his wife, Mary, across the River Avon in 1976 during a colourful career as a stuntman. He gave up after one attempt in which she made it to the opposite bank only to be bounced back into the river by a safety net.
Perhaps he just needs to move over here.