Campaign launched to stop traveller sites and tipping abuse (From Thurrock Gazette)

Campaign launched to stop traveller sites and tipping abuse

3:01am Wednesday 21st May 2008

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A LEADING Thurrock businessman has slammed police and the borough council for failing to tackle the problem of itinerant travellers who litter the countryside with their rubbish.

Clive Broad, who owns Stanford-le-Hope based Daybreak Windows and is a prominent local charity fundraiser, says he is sick of picking up the tab to clean up after travellers because the authorities are running scared.

“Why can’t we all leave rubbish and excrement all over the place? Because we would be arrested if we did. It’s obvious that Thurrock Council and the local constabulary think of normal, law-abiding people as of a lower class than these travellers.”

Clive Broad

And he is planning a campaign not only calling for a clampdown on offenders, but for the Council to ignore calls to create more permanent traveller sites in the borough.

Mr Broad, of Lodge Lane, Grays, who recently unsuccessfully stood for UKIP in the local elections says he is furious that it's 'one law for the travellers, one for the rest of us.' He has spoken up after a group of travellers left their illegal pitch on land off Stanford road near the flyover over the Tilbury Dock Road.

Last year the council was landed with a big bill to clean up on the same site after another visit - and Mr Broad said in recent weeks council officers and police just stood by and let the travellers abuse the countryside again.

He is demanding a change in attitude from the authorities, saying: "The borough fails to move them on time and time again. Now they have left another load of rubbish, some of which they tried to set fire to be fore they left, a blaze that had to be dealt with by the fire brigade.

"Now we have to pay to have this rubbish removed out of our rates - a regular occurrence throughout the borough.

"Over past weeks Thurrock Council has prosecuted various people for fly-tipping. These people blatantly ignore the law and get away with it.

"Why can't we all leave rubbish and excrement all over the place? Because we would be arrested if we did. It's obvious that Thurrock Council and the local constabulary think of normal, law-abiding people as of a lower class than these travellers."

And Mr Broad thinks the problem will get worse if the borough is forced to become home to more travellers, saying they will continue to abuse the law and fly-tip from their new sites.

He believes Thurrock is being unfairly penalised, saying: "At the moment Thurrock has 70 authorised pitches. The East of England Regional Assembly want to give us another 44 but they don't apply the same rules to other parts of the region, in fact if pitches were spread out evenly, we would have less - not more.

"We have had enough and now I plan to campaign to make sure we get a fair break. I have a campaign plan mapped out and all it will take it a little effort by ordinary people to make sure the bureaucrats get the message. If people want to help me make this happen, please call me on 07855 076420."

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