A desperate landowner says he has had to put up “Auschwitz” like razor wire to protect his land from thieves.

Daniel Bentley says his private woodland has been broken into five times by crooks trying to steal plants and machinery.

The jagged metal spirals, off Alkham Valley Road, Alkham, were reported to the authorities by residents and now Kent County Council has been involved.

Mr Bentley, a builder from Minster, said: "It looks like Auschwitz and I didn’t want to put it up and it is horrible looking but I have no choice. The land has been broken into five times. This has cost me thousands of pounds."

Mr Bentley admits that he last week put up galvanised razor of a lower grade, which would be the least dangerous type.

It is to protect 12 to 13 acres where plant and machinery is in place to install land drainage. This is to deal with flooding both for the benefit of his own land and neighbouring farmland.

He explains that on November 17 thieves had broken into the land to steal a three-tonne dumper.

"It looks like Auschwitz and I didn’t want to put it up and it is horrible looking but I have no choice" - Daniel Bentley

It was recovered but it cost him more than £1,200 in costs such as excess, repairs and charges.

The land had only been surrounded by stock fencing that the thieves were able to get over.

Police had advised him to step up security but when he placed barbed wire it was snipped away.

He says that since the barbed wire was placed crooks broke in four more times to try to steal other machinery such as a digger. They were not able to drive it way but had damaged the ignition trying.

He said: “Each time we have suffered further vandalism and attempted theft of plant on-site causing a further £1,000 such as in damage and costs.”

Placing sharp material such as barbed wire or broken glass to protect property is not inherently illegal but the law says the landowner has a duty of care to all entering their property, even trespassers. Property owners could be sued under the Occupier’s Liability Act 1984.

Mr Bentley says he is trying to protect intruders from themselves because there is a two-metre deep trench further into the woodland, which they would not be able to see and could fall into in the pitch darkness.

He says there are clear and visible signs warning of the razor wire, which deters trespassers from trying to break in at all.

The bright yellow signs say: “Danger. Protected by razor wire.”

Legally a property owner may he able to discharge their duty of care by warning trespassers of hazards such as with signs.

The coils of razor wire have been installed inside the perimeter fencing and security so nobody can be touched by it unless they climb over the fence and break in.

In the long term Mr Bentley wants to protect the property with thick hawthorn hedges, which would be prickly. But they would take three years to grown in full.