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BONFIRE THREAT
For 72
years, Mary Beadsmoore has lived in the same house. She
has seen fashions change and people come and go, but one
thing she has never done is light a bonfire at her house
in Hartington Street, Derby. People around her have lit
fires. So much so that there have been 15 complaints
about them in her street and surrounding ones. So imagine
her shock to get a letter from the council that not only
accused the 78 year-old of lighting a bonfire but
threatened a £20,000 fine at the same time. The letter
stated: "I have received a complaint about smoke
from a bonfire at your premises. An officer asked that
you make sure the accumulation of rubbish was disposed of
properly, but it has since come to our attention that it
was burnt in the garden. Please ensure that this does not
happen again or you will be liable to possible
prosecution. If found guilty, the fine is up to
£20,000."
Mrs Beadsmoore, has now received an apology from the
council, but she is angry that such an error could be
made. "I think it is stupid that I have been sent
this letter," she said. "When I got it, I
obviously realised they had sent it to the wrong address,
but it was still not very pleasant to receive the letter.
I have never had a bonfire in this garden and I certainly
don't burn trade or building waste. We have had a number
of problems with people having bonfires in this street
and it is dreadful." Recent figures show there were
15 complaints about bonfires in the Hartington Street,
Melbourne Street and Charnwood Street areas made to the
council in the past six months.
The council said the error followed a complaint from a
member of the public who gave the wrong address. A
spokesman added, "We received a complaint about a
bonfire nuisance which incorrectly gave Mrs Beadsmoore's
address as the site of the bonfire. We spoke to Mrs
Beadsmoore earlier this week to explain and apologise for
the mix-up, and we will be writing to her to confirm that
the complaint was not about her. If there is a complaint
about a nuisance fire, we will follow it up, as this
incident shows. We visit properties to explain to people
that their fires can be a nuisance to others. We make
people aware that if they have regular bonfires, create
dark smoke or if they burn trade waste, they may face
prosecution and be liable for a fine of up to
£20,000."
Residents of nearby Melbourne Street regularly have to
put up with far worse vices however. They have, in the
past few months, had an influx of youngsters selling
drugs from cars, delivery of drugs from bicycles, and
prostitues parading the corners of the street. The police
have been informed on numerous occasions about these
antics but, as usual nothing happens. There are daily
acts of open selling on the street with regular callers
to buy.
Although the Council is not totally responsible, why has
CCTV surveillance not been installed in Melbourne Street?
Obviously, not wanting to be seen on camera from
Hartingdon Street, the "open all hours" for
drugs and sex has now moved onto Melbourne Street.
Residents find it degrading and demoralising, as they
have been trying to keep their properties up to standard
by having the local grant improvements to upgrade them,
but the downgrade of the area will never be up do
standard with the druggies and prostitutes being able to
work as freely as they do.
Recently they have been subjected to having to pay for
parking permits too, at a cost of £75 a year. This must
be quite disgusting to arrive back home from work in the
evening only to find two or three cars parked in the
street waiting for their 'delivery boys' to sell the
drugs. If a little more enthusiasm and time went into
trying to CLEANUP this street, they would all live a
little more safely and less stressed, rather than taking
the time to check up on people burning rubbish which is,
in comparison, a rather minor problem.
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