Anger at fly-tipping response

A city resident has described her disappointment that police were not interested in investigating two men who dumped brown bins and a shopping trolley out of a white van before driving off.
By The Newsroom
Published 23rd Jul 2017, 07:00 BST
Updated 12th Sep 2017, 11:18 BST
Some of the fly-tipped rubbishSome of the fly-tipped rubbish
Some of the fly-tipped rubbish

Melissa Steels of Byron Close, Stanground, said she was “disgusted to hear it’s not a police matter” after the force said it was an issue for Peterborough City Council.

She said on Wednesday evening last week, two young males drove to where she lived, then “reversed up to the entrance of the children’s play area, opened up the rear doors to their white transit van, then drove off at high speed whilst pushing all this rubbish out, blocking cars in.”

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Another resident who witnessed the incident, but did not wish to be named, said: “The police did not seem interested,” but he added that the council was helpful when he called the following morning.

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He said a neighbour tidied everything up so residents could get their cars out.

Fly-tipping is investigated by the city’s Prevention and Enforcement Service, which sees council, police, fire service and prison staff operating as a single team.

A spokeswoman for the service said: “If anyone witnesses fly-tipping in Peterborough we would advise them to call the police on 101 with any information they have so this can be logged and appropriately investigated.

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“We would also encourage people to report this to the council directly either by calling 01733 747474 or @Ask_PCC on Twitter.

“Once reported to us we can liaise with Amey to arrange for it to be cleaned up and removed. This is usually done within 48 hours once reported to Amey or 24 hours when it is classed as hazardous.

“The fly-tip in question was removed on Thursday, June 13.”

A police spokeswoman said: “Fly-tipping which occurs on public land should be reported to the council which will investigate as lead authority.”

Asked what would happen if an officer saw fly-tipping occurring, she replied: “I’m unable to answer hypothetically about what officers would do if they saw fly-tipping, however it is an arrestable offence.”

Last year, the Peterborough Telegraph reported that there were more than 9,000 reported incidents of illegally dumped waste in 2015.

It costs approximately £250,000 a year for fly-tips to be cleared.