11 February 2024 , 18:39
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Villagers blocked two fly-tippers as they unloaded waste on a country lane.
Quick-thinking locals used their cars to block the vans as they unloaded waste on the Packington Estate near Meriden, Warwickshire. Pictures show officers from Warwickshire Police seizing a white van after piles of rubbish were dumped on a country lane on the edge of Meriden.
This comes 12 years after residents tried to stop an illegal traveller site by camping on the road for more than 600 days. Last Wednesday's blockade, just one mile from their last protest, lasted less time and saw police arrive minutes after receiving a 999 call. The force described the incident as "some of the worst flytipping we had seen in a long time."
On the police Facebook page, officers wrote: "We attended the Packington Estate on Maxstone Lane near Meriden to a report of two vans flytipping. On arrival we found some of the worse flytipping we had seen in a long time.
A large pile of waste was dumped on the road (No credit)
The force described the incident as "some of the worst flytipping we had seen in a long time." (No credit)"We detained two males who were instructed to reload the two vans with all the rubbish dumped. We supervised them cleaning up their mess and enjoyed a great cup of tea and slice of home made cake courtesy of the farmer's wife. No cake and tea for these two offenders."
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A police spokesperson explained: "Cleaning up the results of fly-tipping is the responsibility of the local council and members of the public who discover incidents of fly-tipping should report it to them directly. Officers from the Warwickshire Rural Crime Team also attended the scene and have now taken on the investigation and prosecution case."
Locals in Meriden are known for stepping up when confrontations occur. From 2010 to 2012, a group of tough residents even camped out to stop an illegal traveller camp from getting bigger near their village. Residents fought a 1,000-day battle with travellers who were living on the green belt site and expressed intention to build on it.
Solihull Borough Council issued a stop notice on the travellers at the site. It said the travellers had put in a request for planning permission on the site as a "gypsy site for 14 pitches to site 14 mobile homes, 14 touring caravans and associated ancillary developments".
This prompted locals to launch the campaign group Meriden Residents Against Inappropriate Development in 2010 and built their own camp opposite in protest. The application was rejected and the council ordered those living on the site to leave.
David McGrath, who led villagers as they staged a round-the-clock vigil to make sure the fields could not be built on, said the good life had returned in 2013, a year after the camp was cleared. The prospect of it being developed are nil,” he told Birmingham Mail at the time.
“It has always been a site unsuitable for development. It is in the green belt, a designated wildlife site, prone to flooding with dangerous access and on a blind bend. Walkers and horse riders now enjoy the area again without the fear of conflict from the former residents or their scrap lorries.
“Possibly the travellers will sell it one day so it can be properly managed as the green belt asset that it really is.”