Kent Police slammed for taking bobbies off the beat to hunt dumped shopping trolleys

Published 21st Oct 2010

A police force that is laying off 500 officers sent two officers on the hunt for lost shopping trolleys.

The uniformed pair were ordered to accompany a council worker on the operation, which was justified on the grounds of road safety. A total of 43 trolleys were recovered by the trio in a two-hour clean-up last week.

The trolleys, which Kent Police said were a ‘road traffic hazard’, were then returned to grateful Tesco bosses in a council lorry.

Residents said the decision to take the officers off regular duties and send them hunting for trolleys belonging to the supermarket giant – which has already made £1.6billion profit in the first six months of this year – was a ‘total waste of police resources’.

Laurence Graves, a 54-year-old plumber, said: ‘What the hell are police doing going around picking up abandoned shopping trolleys?

‘Surely it is Tesco’s job to do that – they make enough money and should be paying people to pick up the stolen trolleys themselves.

We expect our officers to be out on the beat, not searching in the undergrowth for trolleys.’

Inspector Steve Griffiths of Kent Police defended the action on the grounds that the trolleys were a health and safety hazard.

He said: ‘The action we took with Swale Council to remove trolleys from the streets of Sheerness is very much part of policing on the island. Often these trolleys are left in the middle of the road causing a traffic hazard or are used in incidents of anti-social behaviour.’

He said trolley offenders faced prosecution for theft and littering and fines of up to £2,500.

A spokesman for the Taxpayers’ Alliance said: ‘Although residents do want to see their streets clear of shopping trolleys, it is worrying the council and police are spending their time and taxpayers’ money clearing up Tesco’s mess.

‘The supermarket giant should be held responsible.

‘It’s unfair when police resources are stretched that officers are running around collecting trolleys.’ A spokesman for Tesco said that if police had called them they would have sent a team out to collect the missing trolleys.

He said: ‘Our staff carry out regular collections and if trolleys are found abandoned on the streets people can notify the store manager and we will arrange to collect them.’

Swale councillor David Simmons said: ‘We have a responsibility to make people feel safer, so that falls under our remit.’

Source: ' Daily Mail '

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