respect the Devonshire property he left open for public visits.

The Palm Grove property, off South Shore Road in Devonshire, has recently been plagued by a "succession of minor vandalism'' and other problems, Sir Edmund's grandson Mr. Tom Gibbons said.

In addition to various fruit and coconut palms being stolen, he said motorists seemed to crash into the wall bordering the South Shore property every four months.

Mr. Gibbons said there were also problems with people ignoring posted times for the public to be on the property, particularly on weekends.

Palm Grove is open to the public from Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Mr. Gibbons said the main concern was the speed at which some taxi drivers travelled through the private estate. "There are five different households there with children, so we have a three-day weekend for tenants so parents don't have to worry about children or animals being run over,'' he said.

"But the way some taxi drivers go whipping through there, it is only a matter of time before someone is run over.'' Mr. Gibbons said he did not believe the family would ever totally close the property to the public because his grandfather "had strong feelings about keeping it open to the public and tourists''.

"We don't want to discourage people from coming,'' he said. "People seem to enjoy the map and birds. We want to continue welcoming locals and visitors.

"But we also hope people will assist and behave a little better. For a long time we (the public and Palm Grove tenants) co-existed peacefully. We hope to restore the equilibrium so everyone is happy.''