DATELINE: 26 April, 2002

GOLFBALL DIVER JAILED AFTER MIDNIGHT DIP
John Collinson, 36, was arrested last August at Whetstone Golf Club Leicester, at midnight and in full scuba kit while retrieving 1,158 golf balls from the lakes. He was jailed for 6 months after being found guilty of theft at Leicester Crown Court.
Collinson claimed to have made his living for the last 10 years by retrieving golf balls. He argued that it was a legitimate business. At the time of his arrest, he was caught with an accomplice at night, diving without permission in the golf course lake. The men initially denied that they had been collecting golf balls.
Although the ownership of the golf balls could not be determined, the jury followed the legal principle of 'stealing by finding'. All the more reason to declare anything you may retrieve on a dive to the Receiver of Wreck.

---