Seven static caravans dumped in countryside to cost taxpayers £2,000 to remove
Seven static caravans dumped in a ditch at Cottenham and abandoned in the countryside could cost the taxpayer ?2,000 to remove. Picture: Twitter/@SouthCambs - Credit: Archant
Seven static caravans dumped across the countryside could cost taxpayers around £2,000 for specialist contractors to remove them.
Seven static caravans dumped in a ditch at Cottenham and abandoned in the countryside could cost the taxpayer £2,000 to remove. Picture: Twitter/@SouthCambs - Credit: Archant
South Cambridgeshire District Council have launched an investigation after the mobile homes were found abandoned at the roadside and left in the ditch.
Five of the caravans were pushed into drainage ditches in Setchel Drove at the edge of Cottenham, another was found on the grass verge.
Another static home was discovered abandoned nearby at Lockspit Hall Drove; each mobile home contained belongings and paperwork.
The council plans to have the caravans removed by contractors within the next two weeks, but due to their size, this is expected to cost taxpayers in the region of £2,000.
Seven static caravans dumped in a ditch at Cottenham and abandoned in the countryside could cost the taxpayer £2,000 to remove. Picture: Twitter/@SouthCambs - Credit: Archant
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The waste disposal costs are expected to be similar.
Councillor Brian Milnes, South Cambridgeshire District Council’s lead cabinet member for environmental services and licensing, has spoken of his anger.
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He said: “This is a shockingly large ‘fly-tip’, a term that doesn’t seem to reflect the scale of the crime.
“Whoever dumped these static vans has no regard for the local farmers, the law, or those left with the difficult task of removing them quickly from these remote locations.
“Those in the ditches increase the threat of flooding so I’d like to thank our environmental health and waste teams for working hard to get the vehicles removed as soon as possible.
“We’ve been through the fly-tip to recover evidence and have already been given information about their likely origins.
“I’d encourage anyone else with further information to contact us, in confidence, as soon as possible. Fortunately, a fly-tip of this size and nature is incredibly rare.
“We will, of course, prosecute whoever is found to be responsible.”
A council spokesperson said: “Everyone has a legal ‘duty of care’ to ensure their household or business waste is disposed of correctly.
“You can be prosecuted even if your waste is fly-tipped by someone else on your behalf.
“Always use a registered waste carrier, which you can verify on the Environment Agency website, to provide a skip or collect your rubbish so you can be confident that it will not end up dumped.
“If you witness someone fly-tipping, call the police on 999 and report it as an environmental crime in progress. Report fly-tipping that you come across to the council.”
Anyone with information should email: Waste.Enquiries@scambs.gov.uk
