Another piece of heath and safety rubbish

The Mail and others report that:

"Under draft safety guidelines drawn up by the British Standards Institution, every tree in the country would have to be inspected by a 'trained person' every three years and by an 'expert' every five years to make sure they do not pose a danger to passers by. Owners would also have to inspect every tree on their land at least once a year, the BSI said....The recommendations come despite the low risk of injuries from trees....Tree surgeons rarely charge to inspect a tree. However, if call outs became routine, they are likely to charge around £70 a visit."

More costs for the home-owner but the most worrying part is this "Around six people are killed every year by falling trees while some 640 people die each year from falling down stairs".

To the keen "health and safety" mind this does not mean that there is no need to inspect trees annually but that stairs need even more careful inspection. I would imagine the requirement should be a monthly inspection of all staircases, if they are carpeted, more often if bare boards. DANGER signs prominently positioned at the top and bottom of stairs, fluorescent tape to mark the leading edge of each step so as to minimise night time falls and maybe a traffic light system to ensure that no more than 1 person is on any set of stairs at any one time.