Appeal to find Wokingham fly-tippers who sparked a GBP 10,000 clear-up
A massive Wokingham clear-up operation, costing an estimated £10,000, has taken place over the past few days to remove the two unroadworthy trailers from lay-bys on the road, after they were dumped sometime over the weekend, and to dispose of the tyres.
As the illegally dumped trailers were causing an obstruction and safety hazard to motorists the borough council removed both of them as quickly as possible on Wednesday (December 5).
The fly-tipping of these trailers must have been quite noisy and Wokingham borough council believes a passing motorist or resident may have noticed what happened and so it is keen to hear from any witnesses who may have seen something suspicious over the weekend of December 1 and 2.
If the people responsible for this illegal and dangerous act can be tracked down then the borough council will prosecute as it has caused thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money to be spent on removing this potential hazard.
The trailers are quite distinctive because of their size and the road they were dumped on is a major route through Swallowfield. One trailer was left in the southbound lay-by while the other was dumped on the northbound lay-by. Both trailers were full of tyres, it is estimated that there could have been anywhere between 500 to 1,000 tyres in each trailer.
One trailer was blue with the word “dumped” scrawled in red on the back, while the other trailer was red. Both were in an unroadworthy condition.
Peter Baveystock, waste and recycling manager for Wokingham Borough Council, who is also responsible for ensuring abandoned vehicles are removed, said: “This was a completely pre-meditated and irresponsible act.
“The illegal dumping of these trailers left motorists at risk and left the taxpayer out of pocket. To just dump two huge articulated lorry trailers by the side of the road and expect someone else to dispose of them is disgraceful.
“I’m appealing to the public to come forward and let the borough council know if they happened to spot anyone near or in these trailers over the weekend so that we can track down the people responsible and prosecute them.”
Anyone who noticed anything unusual or spotted the trailers being dumped should call Wokingham Borough Council’s waste and recycling team on (0118) 974 6302/6303.
The cost of removing the trailers from the highway was approximately £2,000. The disposal of each tyre costs at least £4 and so based on 1,000 tyres in each trailer it cost and additional £8,000 on top of the removal fee.
Wokingham Borough Council
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