Thanks, But No Thanks

Port St Mary Commissioners have politely told residents to put the tools down after a wave of ‘well-meaning’ village tidy-ups around the area.

While the intentions may have been good, the message from the authority is essentially: thanks, but please stop, because you’re not insured, and it could end badly.

In a statement, the Commissioners said they had seen members of the public carrying out work on Commissioners’ land and wanted to make clear the risks involved.

‘We’ve had some very well meaning people do some work around the village and Port, however, we must remind you that you aren’t insured to do this work and you could be risking your own health or that of others depending on the work you’re undertaking,’ they said.

The Commissioners stressed that public land maintenance is handled by trained and insured teams who carry out work under proper risk assessments.

‘We request that you don’t undertake work on Commissioners’ land, we have a team who are highly trained, insured and risk assessed,’ they added.

‘Your safety remains in our thinking.’

Which is basically local authority spiel for: we appreciate the enthusiasm, but also please don’t injure yourself on our behalf.