Fly-tipping. A true story....

[Cozzer]

Christmas Eve, circa 8.45pm, out with the dog.
A local lay-by, also known as the 200 yard public toilet for taxi drivers and other men who forgot to call at the pub's toilet before they left.
Walking along in the gloom, I spy a motorist who was having trouble changing a tyre on his hatchback. Lots of stuff being thrown on the pavement.
Poor bugger...Xmas Eve, and a awkward wheel change.
I was maybe 40 yards away when we were spotted. The bloke shouts (a warning) to his mate, who had parked his flatbed pickup t'other side of the hatchback.
They climb in their respective vehicles, and scarper...
Too dark/far for number plates, sad to say....but I did spot something before the hatchback driver fled.

When I reached the scene, the "puncture" was a load of builder's rubble, complete with knackered wheelbarrow, large paint cans, lumps of concrete...

Rang 101 when I got home.
The operator couldn't wait to tell me that it wasn't anything to do with the cops. It's a council matter.
I tried to butt in. There was something else that I hadn't managed to say....
I was again interrupted, advising it was a council matter, and therefore I'd have to wait until they were open again, presumably early in the New Year.
Again, I had to be firm and tell her that I hadn't finished my story....
The item I'd spotted - and picked up - was the hatchback driver's mobile phone....Still live, all his numbers. All his contacts.
You've been nicked, matey....

101's attitude changed. Not a lot, but enough to bother taking my details and saying that the phone would be collected in due course.....

It was, a few days ago.
A PCSO. He looked unimpressed, I have to say.
There was I, hoping that the flyer had had a real miserable Christmas, just waiting for the knock on his door. He must've realised where he'd lost his phone, and that someone would find it....

But no....
The Police, I was assured by the PCSO, wouldn't have the right to open the phone's details.
They would be handing it over to the respective council, and to his knowledge, they wouldn't have the right either.
So what's the good of picking it up, I wondered.
Did I get either of the reg plate details? No.
What colour? It was night time, on a lay-by. No CCTV. The nearest street light was over the road, 3 carriageways and a line of trees away.
"It's a shame you didn't get closer...."
Well, thanks for that. Possibly beaten up as a result...who knows?

Suffice to say, there's been no contact since, Police or council representative.
Perhaps I should've got the morons to sign a confession....

 

[Bingy man]

I’m saddened to hear this but not surprised, it’s strange though because I’ve watched programmes on fly tipping and councils actively search fly tipped waste in search of letters or invoices or anything to identify the culprits so a phone i m o would be gold dust . If it’s locked however I believe you have to give them permission depending on the crime committed. Given the cost for removing the waste falls on the local council you would expect them to investigate but who knows . Where I live they don’t bother with lay by,s and dark lanes they dump it anywhere- street, verge , shrub beds etc .

 

[Lons]

I'd ring the council, tell them what happened and ask if the police have been in touch ( I bet not ). If the police don't view it as a crime then the 'phone is effectively lost property which if not claimed you are entitled eventually to receive back, then you can do what you want with it.

 

[Cabinetman]

That is so very annoying on a few levels, when I’m King of the world things will be a whole lot different!
My work bin was filled up with flooring laminate by someone who also (as was said) included a pile of junk mail, so when I knocked on his door I asked him if he had done his nice new floor himself ? On him saying yes I returned it all into his front yard. I was ready for him to have a go but he didn’t say a word.
Ian

 

[Cozzer]

....then you can do what you want with it.

A suppository for the owner is what springs to mind....

 

[Cozzer]

... On him saying yes I returned it all into his front yard...

Oh yes!
Beautifully done, sir!

 

[Agent_zed]

It's a shame sometimes we don't know things ahead of time. If you know the police didn't give a monkeys it would have been quite fun going through the contacts list one by one sending random messages to them all. Declaring a forbidden love, advising they get checked for various sti's or demanding money or else.

I'm sure I've said this story before but my parents had a card cloned and the crooks bought a load of thing online to be collected from Tesco. My parents realised from transaction history and contacted tescos and were told some of the things hadn't been collected yet. So they phoned the police expecting them to arrange a sting with Tesco and were told they weren't going to do anything. Tesco said they were happy to do it but the police didn't want to.

They could have literally caught them goods in hand so instead they just get to carry on carrying on.

 

[Ozi]

Much the same response I got with a dug dealing tenants 5 I-phones.

 

[MikeJhn]

As I understand the law, the police have the right to break into a property if they have reasonable grounds to suspect a crime is being committed, what is the difference with a phone found at the scene of a crime????? Rhetorical question.

 

[MikeJhn]

Much the same response I got with a dug dealing tenants 5 I-phones.

What where they dug ging.

 

[Inspector]

That is so very annoying on a few levels, when I’m King of the world things will be a whole lot different!
My work bin was filled up with flooring laminate by someone who also (as was said) included a pile of junk mail, so when I knocked on his door I asked him if he had done his nice new floor himself ? On him saying yes I returned it all into his front yard. I was ready for him to have a go but he didn’t say a word.
Ian

Unfortunately there is one problem with returning the garbage. They will probably take it somewhere else and dump it again having learned to leave out the mail.

Pete

 

[Cozzer]

As I understand the law, the police have the right to break into a property if they have reasonable grounds to suspect a crime is being committed, what is the difference with a phone found at the scene of a crime????? Rhetorical question.

It's a fair point. Fly tipping is a crime. I would've thought the phone, complete with all his contacts, would've been like manna from heaven for those investigating. Probably some rubbish like data protection?

There is an interesting side element to this, but nothing to do with the flytip.
Before the cops called for the phone, they tried to get me on the landline to make sure it was convenient.
I missed their two calls.
A short while afterwards, I got a text from my son - who lives away from home, and who's never "been known" to the police - saying that he'd had a call from them. How did they know his mobile number?
Whilst puzzling over that, I too got a call on my mobile, just asking if X o'clock would be OK to collect the phone.

During my later conversation with the PCSO, I asked how they'd found the two mobile numbers.
He smiled. "We're the police".

So they have the "right" to delve into our records - which? Where? How? - but can't touch the criminal's phone?
Surely that has to be very odd?

 

[Ozi]

Unfortunately there is one problem with returning the garbage. They will probably take it somewhere else and dump it again having learned to leave out the mail.

Pete

You should have probably set it on fire

 

[Ross Buchanan]

You should have used the phone to post something about, oh I don't know, the religion of a criminal, or the colour of someone in politics, something of that order on Twitter. Complete with a Union Jack or two.
Obviously, they wouldn't get done for fly tipping, but jail is jail

 

[John Brown]

Unfortunately there is one problem with returning the garbage. They will probably take it somewhere else and dump it again having learned to leave out the mail.

Pete

Maybe they placed the envelope at the bottom of that pile of garbage..
You can get anything you want, at Alice's Restaurant.

 

[Cabinetman]

Maybe they placed the envelope at the bottom of that pile of garbage..
You can get anything you want, at Alice's Restaurant.

Clever, didn’t know the reference so I looked it up. A short spell in the Army would have done him wonders!

 

[Cozzer]

Maybe they placed the envelope at the bottom of that pile of garbage..
You can get anything you want, at Alice's Restaurant.

Went to see Arlo's film in early 70's(?) following a suggestion from a pal.
I can't remember whether it was any good or not, which presumably means that it wasn't!
I can vaguely recall one line from it - which seemed to amuse everyone else there - when Arlo utters
"I didn't want to catch your cold..."

 

[John Brown]

Went to see Arlo's film in early 70's(?) following a suggestion from a pal.
I can't remember whether it was any good or not, which presumably means that it wasn't!
I can vaguely recall one line from it - which seemed to amuse everyone else there - when Arlo utters
"I didn't want to catch your cold..."

Don't think I've ever seen the film, but it was one of the first things I learnt to almost play on the guitar.

Are you sure you're not thinking of Steve Martin in The Jerk, saying "I didn't wanna get spit on me"?

 

[Stevekane]

Perhaps a report to your local press might have got things moving,,the police seem to light up when the media is involved.

 

[Amplidyne]

That is so very annoying on a few levels, when I’m King of the world things will be a whole lot different!
My work bin was filled up with flooring laminate by someone who also (as was said) included a pile of junk mail, so when I knocked on his door I asked him if he had done his nice new floor himself ? On him saying yes I returned it all into his front yard. I was ready for him to have a go but he didn’t say a word.
Ian

When does your case come up for fly tipping?