Wilmington level crossing cleared of fly tipped rubbish
All fly tipping is a criminal offence, but this one could have resulted in a serious accident.
Submitted for publication by Leonard Bennett, Network Rail
Parts of an old kitchen, garden items and builders rubble were among over three tonnes of fly-tipped rubbish cleared from a level crossing in East Sussex.
Network Rail’s maintenance team cleared junk from Thornwell Road level crossing near the village of Wilmington. It is situated near the busy A27 Eastbourne to Lewes road and is a prime target for litter and fly-tipping by members of the public. Not only is this a nuisance for people living alongside the railway but it can also cause problems for the railway itself.
Litter attracts rats to the railway and rats like to chew on signal cables, which can lead to signal failures, delays and even accidents.
Tracy Partridge, level crossing manager at Network Rail said: "It's amazing what our maintenance teams uncovered during the clean-up operation - items cleared have included ripped-out kitchen units which were dumped carelessly. We have a duty to the community to remove this blight from their area, but we would rather invest our time and money renewing and enhancing the rail network.
“This is why we urge anyone who has information about fly-tipping to call the British Transport police and help us fight this costly anti-social crime."
