'Anti loitering device' fitted to keep trespassers off hockey pitch

Tuesday 30 October 2018

The Guernsey Hockey Club has had to install a noise deterrent to stop people using its expensive astro turf pitch without booking or paying for it.

The club confirmed the anti loitering device was only recently installed recently to "discourage unauthorised use of the hockey pitch."

The devices are also known as a 'Mosquito' and emit noises which can only usually be heard by young people, whose ears will pick up the high pitched notes the machines emit.

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Manufacturers say the machines emit noises with frequency settings between 17.4kHz which can generally only be heard by young people, or noises at 8 kHz that can be heard by most people. Some are set to be heard by people under 25, others by people below the age of 18. It's not clear which device Guernsey Hockey has installed but the club said the pitch was "an expensive asset, paid for jointly by the hockey club and the States of Guernsey."

The decision was made to buy the anti loitering device, after "a number of incidents of littering and damage to property, either through vandalism or misuse of the facilities."

Pictured: Andy Whalley of Guernsey Hockey club in action. 

While Guernsey Hockey said the pitch is primarily used for hockey, it can also be hired for football through Beau Sejour. But, any activities on the hockey pitch must be paid for and must be booked through the official channels. This is for insurance purposes as well as to help maintain the pitch.

"All activities - including the regular hockey league games - are (or should be) booked such that appropriate records are maintained for insurance purposes amongst other things and so that the costs of laying and maintaining the pitch are shared equally amongst its users," said Guernsey Hockey.

Pictured top: Guernsey Hockey and a type of 'Mosquito' device.