Mayor revives medieval defences

Exasperated by a spate of break-ins and car thefts, the mayor of San Genesio in northern Italy plans to erect medieval-style gates on roads into his village to keep out unwanted visitors at night.

Exasperated by a spate of break-ins and car thefts, the mayor of San Genesio in northern Italy plans to erect medieval-style gates on roads into his village to keep out unwanted visitors at night.

Giampaolo Zetti hopes the gates will stop the burglaries and thefts which have become nightly occurrences. He said: "I had to do something to put people's minds at rest. People have taken to sleeping with guns by their beds. I'm worried someone might take the law into their own hands and shoot one of these thieves."

Under his plan, three of the village's four main accesses will be barred from nightfall until dawn, and the fourth guarded by volunteers. Finance for the project, expected to cost about £40,000, has allocated in the council budget.

Like many in the village, Mr Zetti believes the crimewave is linked to the increase in illegal immigrants in Italy. "We don't know who the culprits are but we suspect they belong to Albanian crime gangs who specialise in stealing prestige cars and break-ins," he said. "Their members have been caught committing similar offences in nearby villages. I'm not saying it's their fault; they arrive here, can't get work, end up sleeping rough and turn to crime. The system has broken down and something needs to be done."