Windscreen washer women continue to plague city drivers
WOMEN windscreen washers continue to target drivers on a busy Birmingham road, despite being warned by the police.
West Midlands Police received a “mountain of complaints” last year after the washers ran through traffic at the busy Bristol Road junction.
Groups of women, believed to be Eastern European, have been targeting the junction at Bristol Road and Belgrave Middleway since 2017. They have also been spotted on the middle ring road near Newtown.
Police arrested and charged 11 washers two years ago, and said they were working towards “a long-term solution”.
In February 2017, a driver was confronted by an illegal wind- screen washer who begged him: “Give me some change, sexy boy”.
Councillor Des Flood (Conservative, Bartley Green) witnessed it for himself at the junction’s traffic lights near McDonald’s.
His car was approached while he was waiting at red lights with his son and two-year-old twin girl grandchildren in the back.
“Suddenly, this woman ran across the busy traffic and started to clean my front windscreen, without any invitation,” said Cllr Flood.
“She then knocked on the side windscreen for payment, and continued to knock on the window as I tried to ignore her.
“She only stopped when
the lights turned to green and traffic started to move.”
Sgt Pete Sandhu, from Birmingham Police, said: “We don’t underestimate the nuisance of roadside windscreen washers and continue to act on information we receive from the public.
“We carry out targeted police operations to catch those who persistently pester drivers for cash and look to pursue court action if appropriate.
“They are putting their own safety at risk by going out into the road and towards oncoming traffic and we want to steer them away from such actions. We also need the help of the public, through not giving these beggars money and deterring them from acting as windscreen washers.”
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