Anger over fly-tipper who ‘insulted the community’
AN investigation is underway after a business owner reportedly caught a DPD courier dumping rubbish, including a washing machine and plastics, on a grass verge.
Waste including pots of paint, plastics, a Beko washing machine, and cardboard was dumped on grass on Tollgate Crescent in Burscough, just before 6pm on Sunday, January 23, according to the local businessman.
Nick Shaw, 49, general manager of R Barker & Sons Limited, a nearby transport company, found the waste the next day and was so appalled he asked for CCTV footage of the incident, which he says revealed the culprit in action the previous day.
He has reported the matter to the authorities as well as the company he says the culprit was working for – and is now calling on people to catch the rogue fly-tipper.
Nick, of Lathom, says the privately-maintained road has public access 24 hours a day, and claims the rubbish was dumped by a DPD delivery driver who didn’t realise he was being captured on CCTV.
Now he is appealing for other people to come forward and help find the culprit.
DPD has investigated the issue with all its drivers, with a company spokesperson saying the “behaviour of our driver here was unforgivable and completely unacceptable”. They are yet to ID the culprit. In an appeal, Nick said: “We are on the lookout for a rogue delivery driver in a DPD (red logo) white van driving round Burscough who decided to fly-tip a Beko washing machine, pots of paint, loose plastics, cardboard, and bin liners of rubbish on beautiful green verge of Tollgate Crescent, Burscough on Sunday.
“Unfortunately for this rogue delivery driver, who opened the rear doors of their company van and threw their mess onto our community on Sunday, January 23, between 5.45pm and 5.48pm, they committed their environmental health crime on CCTV without realising. “How stupid can they be?
“Has anyone else seen the driver of a DPD red logo delivery van doing something similar to this in their area?
“Keep an eye out for this waste criminal, so we catch the Sunday fly-tipper before they make another untimely delivery.”
Nick said he has seen local CCTV of the incident which he says shows a DPD driver stopping their vehicle and unloading items from the back before leaving them on the side of the road.
He said: “I discovered it all down on a grass verge on Tollgate Crescent. I asked Biffa waste management company, who are based nearby, if they had any footage to see if they had captured anything, and they showed me this camera footage.
“It shows a DPD delivery driver, driving along the road, stopping outside Biffa waste management.
“The delivery driver gets out, and tips the washing machine and various other things, like plastics and cardboard, pots of paint, onto the grass verge on the road.”
Now Nick has reported the matter to West Lancashire Borough Council’s environmental services team, who removed the rubbish, and are investigating the incident.
He’s also complained to delivery company DPD, but claims the company told him there are no tracking devices on their vehicles.
He added: “I’m always checking the road, it’s the only road that’s green in the area. It’s beautiful and pleasant and there are trees and grass – it’s got trees all the way along and it’s beautiful, unlike many industrial estates in the area. I’m hoping that this guy gets caught – otherwise, you’ve got people able to wander around the area doing this.
“Who’s next? Some residential area, or some other poor company?
“These fly-tippers do it at night, when they know most cameras can’t get their registration numbers, and even if there are cameras, they can’t pick it up.
“Lancashire deserves better than this. Lancashire is beautiful and deserves to be protected from people like this who think that they can just dump white goods on grass land and damage the environment.
“I have been upset and I take it very personally. I spend so much time looking after the road, for someone to come along and dump things. Someone could have been driving down that road and hit it, or tripped it and hurt themselves. It’s an insult to the community as well.”
A spokesperson for West Lancashire Borough Council said the incident was being investigated.
They said: “The council has a dedicated enforcement team to investigate and prosecute fly-tippers and we are currently working with the police to investigate this incident. We welcome information from residents regarding fly-tipping, along with any evidence which could support prosecutions.
“This information can be provided through the self-service online portal on the council’s website 24 hours a day. Residents that are unable to access online services can report fly-tipping on 01695 577177 from 8.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday. “
A spokesperson for DPD said: “At DPD we take the conduct of our people very seriously indeed, including their interaction with other road users, our customers and their property. The behaviour of our driver here was unforgivable and completely unacceptable. We are carrying out a full investigation and appropriate action will be taken.
“Unfortunately, we aren’t able to identify the individual from this footage, but we have spoken to all drivers that operate in the area and stressed that this behaviour is unacceptable, illegal and will result in serious consequences for their contract with DPD.
“We would like to apologise wholeheartedly to everyone impacted by this incident. Depot management are arranging a site visit to discuss the issues, tidy up and investigate what else we can do to make good with the company and the wider community.”
Biffa waste management services, whose CCTV of the incident is said to have been shared with Nick, was also contacted for comment.