Prosecutions must happen, says Lees Councillor Sam Al-Hamdani, after new CCTV cameras were destroyed just days after being installed at a fly-tipping hotspot in the village.
Holts Lane – running across the Leesbrook – has been blighted for years by fly-tippers dumping waste, where the brook runs across the road. Cameras were finally installed just two weeks ago, after a long-running campaign by the local councillors to address the problems, but have been immediately smashed down by the people doing the tipping, and more waste immediately dumped.
“It is a stain on a beautiful area. One moment you are walking through a wood, alongside the brook, and the next you come out on to a tatty road covered with rubbish,” said Councillor Al-Hamdani. “People are out to make money by clearing waste without getting licences. It’s criminal, and they need to be prosecuted.”
“We know from addresses found on the waste that this is not local people avoiding going to the tip. There has been waste here from Reddish and Salford – I’ve seen the addresses on dumped mail. These are commercial operators acting criminally.”
The footage is now being investigated to see if the perpetrators can be identified and prosecuted. In the meantime, the councillors have asked Oldham Council to start the process of gating the right of way if it is the only way of preventing the criminals.
Councillor Al-Hamdani added: “The Council were already looking to prosecute previous tipping based on evidence found at Holts Lane. These criminals are disgrace, and I hope they catch them and throw the book at them.”