Shock as flytippers block church drive
Around three tonnes of builders’ waste tipped during night
Scarborough Borough Council has stepped in to remove around three tonnes of building waste after it was fly-tipped into the driveway of St Luke’s Church off Stepney Drive, Scarborough..
The vicar of St Mark’s & St Luke’s, the Rev Shena MorayEvans, voiced her dismay after discovering the rubble, glass and building waste which completely covered the drive.
The waste was so plentiful that it completely blocked vehicle access to the attractive Art Deco church which sits within its own grounds near Scarborough Hospital surrounded by trees, greenery and wildlife.
Rev Moray-Evans said: “St Luke’s is a working church with services every Sunday.
“If we had a funeral booked this morning the hearse could not access the church and a coffin would have had to be manually passed over the rubble.
“In the last few weeks we
have held a funeral, christening, private memorial service and a lovely memorial service with the hospital ante-natal services and Rev Chris Hayes,
lead Chaplain for the York NHS trust.
“I think people should be made aware of this heartless act of vandalism and think how they would feel if their family had booked a wedding, funeral, christening or other event and had to scramble over their thoughtlessness to access the church.
“I reported the incident to both the council and the police.
“The council got back in touch and, as it is private land, they were not obliged to deal with it.
“However, because it doesn’t sit well with them they came and moved it.”
A spokesman for Scarborough Council said: “Fly-tipping is illegal, is a blight on the landscape and costs money to clear at the expense of local council tax payers.
“We are not obliged to deal with waste dumped on private land, but on this occasion, we were happy to assist.
“We arranged for the flytipped materials to be cleared and disposed of as a gesture of goodwill.
“The vast majority of waste collection firms are legitimate but we always ask that residents or businesses check that any company they hire to take away waste is registered with the Environment Agency.”