The gun may wage on in this country, but handguns will always be completely illegal in the U.K. In the land of hope and glory, one security conscious man found an interesting loophole by protecting his home with a loaded cannon. Yes, a cannon, as in the weapon that shoots cannonballs.
This is what many visitors of Charlton in South London see while looking for parking on the busy street, before hurriedly driving away. It’s all part of the plan for this quiet veteran.
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This ominous sign accompanies the cannon below a WWII era infantry helmet. The man who lives behind the cannon, Paul Davis, served with the Royal Engineers, one of the corps of the British Army.
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This cannon won’t be going off anytime soon. The deceptively wooden cannon was actually once a prop on the late ’90s TV series, Hornblower. Davis himself was once an actor, playing alongside Patrick Swayze in the mini-series North and South.
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Nobody parks in Davis’ driveway anymore, but people stop by to take pictures. It’s become a landmark at this point. Davis doesn’t seem to mind, and is proud of the fact that taxi drivers know to set him “by the cannon.”
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(via Newsshopper)
While it’s completely empty, the threat of cannon fire seems to be a pretty persuasive argument against trespassing. Then again, cannons take such a long time to fire. I feel like by the time Davis has it loaded, you would already be done with your errands.
