Fly tippers target Thorpe Hall Hospice's nature area

A new community nature area has been targeted by fly-tippers, leaving the charity owners facing a £200 clean up bill.
A little seen view of thorpe hall pictured from the gardens on the east side of the building 

et page 2A little seen view of thorpe hall pictured from the gardens on the east side of the building 

et page 2
A little seen view of thorpe hall pictured from the gardens on the east side of the building et page 2

The gardening team and a number of volunteers from Peterborough businesses have spent weeks creating a woodland walk and picnic area in the grounds of Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice for visitors to enjoy.

A tree-lined, bark chipping path leads the way from the hospice’s main drive off Thorpe Road, in Longthorpe, Peterborough, alongside a stream to a meadow. Already popular with dog walkers, the new path has already proved a hit with walkers, families and visitors to the hospice.

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But thoughtless fly-tippers are now threatening to spoil the beauty spot and create a hazard for users.

A van-load of rubble, broken wood and insulation was dumped near the entrance to the walk over the weekend. Because of the nature of the rubbish Peterborough City Council’s environmental health department has recommended it is only cleared by experts. And that means the Sue Ryder hospice looks set to be landed with a sizeable bill – and the cost of installing extra security cameras to deter others.

The hospice’s head of support services Martin Russell reported the incident to police. “Unfortunately it seems there are people around who are willing to just dump their rubbish on other people’s doorsteps and leave them to clear it up. Not only that but they chose to dump it in the grounds of a hospice run by a charity. We have to work so hard to raise the £2.8 million it costs every year to run Thorpe Hall’s services. These selfish fly-tippers have forced us to divert some of that hard-earned money to clear up their mess. It really is disgraceful behaviour.

“Not only that but we want to encourage people to come and use our grounds – we have 67 acres of gardens, much of which is open to the public. Thorpe Hall is a community facility and we want the community to be able to enjoy it, not be faced with piles of rubbish.”

If you have any information about the identity of the fly-tippers please call Cambridgeshire police on 101.