Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Drivers using lay-by as toilet
Excrement and bottles filled with urine have been found at a “disgusting” lay-by, sparking calls for the eyesore to be cleaned.
The detritus has been discovered at a rutted patch of turf off the B2046 Adisham Road, near Womenswold, where lorry and car drivers stop for breaks.
Nailbourne councillor Mike Sole says the level of littering at the plot has increased over the last year, as it has “become a magnet for fly-tipping”. “The lay-by is badly rutted with potholes so you wouldn’t want to park a car on 90% of it, and the lorry drivers are using it as a toilet,” he said.
“If you step off the lay-by into the trees behind, it’s full of rubbish – it’s disgusting. Much of the waste in the bushes is human excrement and bottles of urine; it is an absolute disgrace. “It has become a magnet for fly-tipping. There are still a couple of fridge-freezers there.” Kent County Council and Highways England maintain that neither of them owns the lay-by. The Gazette understands it is privately-owned land. However, Cllr Sole is calling for it to be repaired, fitted with a bin and better maintained to make it easier for cars to park.
“The city council at the moment are picking up the bill for tidying it up, which normally on private land wouldn’t happen,” he explained.
“Most of the people I’ve spoken to don’t want it closed off; they realise there’s a need. “We’ve got to accept that until the county council and local authority sort out a proper lorry park somewhere, lorries are going to park on a lay-by like that.”
The Lib Dem fears shutting it could reduce the number of lorry spaces and lead to further issues around the villages. City council spokesman Rob Davies says the authority is in discussions with highways bosses to try to resolve the problem, adding: “Serco have cleaned it on a number of occasions, but it is an unofficial lay-by next to a busy and fast road which makes accessing it safely quite difficult.”