The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
THREE HELD IN HUMAN TRAFFICK PROBE
Early morning raids on city homes Swoops in three countries
If you can think of it, we’ve found it...
“We once went to a job where there was a shed, completely intact, just left on the side of the road. And you could see a brandnew shed, in a garden nearby - but how can you prove it?
“We know exactly where things are going to be when we get the reports.
“North Bretton is the worst in our area. We sometimes have to empty a completely full truck three times a day.”
The words of Peter Saunders and Kevin Guest of Enterprise Peterborough, my chauffeurs for the morning, in a trip across north Peterborough dealing with reported flytipping.
Every city is scourged with flytipping. It’s an easy crime to commit, because many do not even see it as a crime, knowing that “someone will pick it up”.
The stats show the costs: in 2011, 22 per cent of fly tipped waste went to landfill, at a cost of £ 82 per tonne ( which goes up to £ 90 next year) it equates to £ 46,507 from taxpayers’ pockets - not including staffing and vehicle costs.
We begin at Crabtree in Paston, and it is a staccato journey, with Kevin and Peter climbing out several times to drag other people’s garbage into the back of the truck.
In just an hour I see four or five mattresses, a sofa, multiple piles of clothing, cabinets, planks of wood, Barbie dolls, and even a pile of skateboards.
A path way linking gardens in Cath waite is now a mass of vegetation and detritus, while a small grass patch in Outfield, Bretton, is covered with varying objects. A bag of old clothes lies on the opposite side of the path.
The morning list of destinations grows longer as more
People have an idea it is ‘ white van man’, but it could be anyone.” David Marshall, PCC senior neighbourhoods manager
reports are called through
The final stop before the truck needs emptying is the top of Gunthorpe Road. It’s a perfect location for tippers; no streetlights and away from main traffic, with plenty of places to pull over.
A bag of rubble will need more hands to be removed. There’s food, wooden panels, and a rusting fridge.
I ask Pete if he gets frustrated by there petition of the role.
“No, it keeps us in a job - if we weren’t here you can only imagine what it would look like.”
Some of the pictures on this page, taken by our photographers on their travels, show other examples from across the city. We could have filled an eight- page supplement.
So barring CCTV on every street corner, what can be done to stop flytipping?
The aim is to get to any reports within 24 hours; the ‘ normal’ flytipping is dealt with by Enterprise, but if there is incriminating evidence council staff will attend.
Prosecution is an option from the council if it can find evidence of identity. In larger cases the Environment Agency may prosecute.
Offenders can be fined £ 50,000 or imprisoned for 12 months, but there are many smaller, frustrating cases where the effort involved would not justify the conclu--