Work underway to identify man behind wave of littering

Council bosses say takeaways on Tong Street have been advised to secure their bins after “ongoing issues” with an individual who is said to empty trade waste bins in search of food, and then scatter the waste in subways on Tong Street and the Dudley Hill area.

Although Council staff have attempted to find the individual to offer him support, a lack of CCTV in the area has meant they are yet to identify the man.

Tong Councillor Matt Edwards, also leader of the Green Party in Bradford, has raised the issue with the Council, saying numerous residents have reported their bins being opened and waste removed.

He recently put a question to Council bosses what can be done to deal with the issue, which has left Tong Street and areas of Dudley Hill strewn with waste.

The street is one of the main routes through the south of the city.

The question from Cllr Edwards said: “There are ongoing issues with an individual removing waste from residents’ bins and scattering it throughout the subways under Tong Street and paths around Dudley Hill.

“What work is being done to tackle this issue?

“Have local residents and businesses with cameras been contacted?”

The response from Council bosses said there had been reports of a man going through the bins of takeaways in the area, but they claim there has been no report of the issue affecting residential bins.

It said: “Neighbourhood Wardens have attended two takeaway restaurants on Tong Street throughout January where complaints were made in regards to a homeless male going through commercial bins and removing discarded food waste and eating the food and disposing of packaging or any unwanted items in the subway areas on Tong Street.

“The owners of the takeaway restaurants were advised about their duty of care regards their commercial waste.

“Both takeaways have Bradford Council bins, however one was damaged and missing a lid.

“The Neighbourhood Wardens arranged for the lid to be replaced and takeaway staff were told to ensure that the bins were secure and inaccessible to unwanted removal of waste.

“The Councils Environmental Enforcement Team have not received any complaints in relation to this male going through local residents’ household bins in the area.

“The Neighbourhood Wardens and the Area Clean Team staff have continued to monitor and patrol the subway areas to try and identify the homeless male in order to assist and potentially refer him to the appropriate homeless outreach services.

“Due to a lack of CCTV cameras in the locality of the subway there has been no positive identification of the male.”

The question was asked in January, but the response has only recently been published by the Council.

Councillor Matt Edwards (Image: T&A)

When the Telegraph & Argus asked if there had been any further update since then, a Bradford Council spokesperson added: “Neighbourhood Wardens have been monitoring the location and liaising with Street Cleaning to ensure the area is kept clean and businesses are securing their bins.

“As yet, we have been unable to identify the homeless man and he has not been seen recently.

“We will continue to monitor the situation and try to engage with the man and if possible, refer him to support services.”

Responding to the answer, Councillor Matt Edwards said: “I absolutely do not agree that the Council have not received any complaints about this issue as I personally have reported it multiple times.

“I have made repeated requests for CCTV in the area given how significant the fly-tipping issue is around Dudley Hill.

“I am however pleased that the Councils Environmental Enforcement Team have spoken to local businesses as this needed doing. But it doesn’t help residents with standard wheelie bins which can’t be secured.

“I really hope this will prompt a more proactive from the Council to try and tackle this issue as the residents living here deserve this to be taken seriously.”