‘We must start sending these fly-tippers to jail’
CALL FOR ACTION AFTER RUBBISH IS DUMPED IN ROAD
THE shocking moment a group of fly-tippers dumped bags of waste in the middle of a north Manchester street has been caught on camera.
Residents in Collyhurst say they are fed up after claims fly-tippers have targeted the same street at least seven times since the start of lockdown.
Local councillors say the area has seen more littering in the past five weeks than in the past five years.
One video, taken by a local resident, shows a vehicle parked up on Sand Street in broad daylight.
The car’s occupants can be seen brazenly dumping several loads of rubbish into the middle of the road, before driving off.
Other images show dozens of bin bags, furniture, plastic bags and bike wheels abandoned on the street.
A resident, who asked not to be named, said he had seen fly-tippers target the area around eight times over the past few weeks. Councillor for Harpurhey and Collyhurst, Pat Karney said his ward has been facing a fly-tipping pandemic since the start of lockdown.
“We have had more fly-tipping in Collyhurst over the last five weeks than we have had in the last five years,” he told the M.E.N.
“Here we are really seeing the devastating side of lockdown.
“I think all the fines in the world don’t work on these individuals, and we need to start locking them up and giving them jail sentences.
“A lot of local people are absolutely fed up about their environment being polluted and poisoned by fly-tipping at this time.”
Fines for littering and fly-tipping have recently increased in Manchester, after the number of offences rose by a third within a year.
Offenders will now receive a fixed penalty notice (FPN) of £150, which is £50 more than Manchester Council had been charging.
A total of 4,360 FPNs were issued in Manchester between January and March – up from 3,176 in the same period last year.
●