Fly-tippers leave Wolverhampton firm with £3,000 clean-up bill
A Wolverhampton firm has been forced to pay close to £3,000 after fly-tippers dumped a mountain of rubbish on its site.
Pommier UK, which specialise in commercial vehicle accessories, was billed £2,880 by Grab Loaders Ground Workers Ltd, a Halesowen waste removal firm.
If rubbish is dumped on private land, the business or individual has to fork out the money for removal.
It took four loads on two 18-wheeler tipper vehicles to remove the mound.
The rubbish blocked access to the firm's car park and entrances to the office.
It is believed the waste was dumped on Monday night last week.
Neighbouring sites on Planetary Road, have been plagued by fly-tippers, with three incidents since Christmas.
Purchasing manager Steve Booth was the first to spot the rubbish heap the following day.
He said: "My first reaction was I couldn't believe what I was seeing and how much mess there was in front of me, practically right on our doorstep.
"It reflects badly on the business to have all that near the premises, and people from other local businesses were coming across to try and find out what had happened," he said.
Mr Booth said he believes the issue of fly-tipping is not policed as stringently as it should be. He added: "Fly-tipping is an increasing occurrence these days, I think higher penalties, fines and prosecutions should be made.
"I don't think it is policed very well and maybe is seen as less of an issue than it actually is."
Managing director Mike Owen, 56, said: "As it was mixed waste found on our site, it was indeterminable whether or not any hazardous waste was present.
"Therefore, we needed to call Grab Loaders rather than attempting to clear the rubbish ourselves."
Security
Mr Owen is determined to catch future fly-tippers, who target the company's site and is now stepping up security by installing cameras at the firm.
He added: "We will be installing high definition CCTV in order to identity the people responsible if there is any re-occurrence of this type of crime."
West Midlands Police is investigating the fly-tipped waste. Members of the public who have any information and can help police officers with their inquiries are asked to call the force on 101.
