Episode 11 Filthy Rotten Scoundrels


Episode 11

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Transcript


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'In the UK, there's a war being waged to keep our streets clean.'

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A fly-tip of this size would cost thousands to clear it.

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'From the two million pieces of litter dropped every day,

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'to multi-million pound illegal landfill sites,

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'we are all affected by what's dumped on our doorsteps.

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'Coming up today, a shocking story of lethal chemicals

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'that have been dumped and are leaking onto farmland.'

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It's explosive and highly flammable.

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They've got no regard for anyone's safety.

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'In London, there's a game of cat and mouse going on.

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'Officers are hunting for people illegally putting fly-posters up.'

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Can you tell me where I can get hold of you?

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You're not going to tell us?

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'And in Burnley, one man gets the surprise of his life

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'as he dumps a van load of waste and puts a match to the lot.'

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The sheer hard-facedness of it all. It beggars belief, to be honest.

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'This is the fight against Britain's filthy rotten scoundrels.'

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'Fly-posting is a problem blighting our streets,

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'and no more so than in the London borough of Hillingdon.'

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I can see one, two, three...

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four, five, six...

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At least seven of these fly-posts

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in this area alone.

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Eight. Eight signs, all the same, on that one junction.

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'Enforcement Officer John Davies and his team are determined to catch the rotters responsible.

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'Every week, 170 of these posters are slapped up over the borough.'

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It's an environmental issue, an eyesore, what people don't want to see.

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'It's not just an eyesore and an offence, it's dangerous,

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'something road safety organisations want to see the back of.'

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The first, obvious problem, is the distraction that it creates.

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You're reading the poster rather than looking at the traffic.

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The second problem is you can hide a large vehicle behind a small poster.

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They actually can obscure your vision.

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Highway engineers build roads to give a good line of sight.

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Sometimes, they build roads so you don't have a good line of sight,

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to slow you down.

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If you've created a set of lines of sight for drivers to use

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and someone puts a poster across the middle, that effort's wasted.

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The driver, motorcyclist, whoever it may be,

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doesn't have the line of site intended.

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The effect is either the traffic is going to be slowed down

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or you've got a road safety danger because people can't see properly.

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'With more than 23,000 traffic collisions reported

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'to the Metropolitan Police in 2009, in the borough of Hillingdon,

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'officers are determined to make their patch safer - and tidy.

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'Some people are repeat offenders

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'and today, the team is after a company that has been told not to put up illegal posters

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'but has blatantly ignored the warning.'

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They are a company who run parties at third-party venues.

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They'll, basically, rent out space at bars, clubs, pubs.

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This company has its own website,

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appears to be very professional.

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They run three or four every Friday, they run speed-dating sites,

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all within a 20, 30 mile radius of where they operate from in Ascot.

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'John and Alan hope to catch up with the person allegedly fly-posting

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'and ask them to come in for a formal interview.'

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That's what we're taking with us.

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They're different locations where they've been put up.

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I doubt very much if he'll even talk to us.

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I've been proved wrong before. Let's see what happens.

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'John's found out that one of the events advertised made around £700.

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'With up to four events a week, that's a pretty healthy turnover.

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'John and Alan's first stop is the company's registered office.'

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I've just been in to try and speak to the director of the company.

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These appear to be some sort of serviced office blocks.

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I spoke to the receptionist. She put me on to the person I wanted to speak to on the phone.

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I wouldn't exactly say she refused to come and speak to me.

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She said she was busy. Could I leave the letter with the receptionist?

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I said to her that it would be in her best interest to phone us on the number given,

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just so we can discuss the relevant issues

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surrounding the case.

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'Could this be the beginning of a game of cat and mouse?

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'An hour later, it looks like John gets a breakthrough.

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'It's the call he's been waiting for.'

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Hello, Brian.

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I've just had a call from my office to say that you called regarding me delivering a letter.

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You're the promotions manager?

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You didn't know it was illegal to do what, fly-posting?

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In October, November, you received a letter from us saying it was illegal

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and not to carry it out again, and you carried on doing it.

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The letter is requesting you

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to come into the Civic Centre at Hillingdon next Friday

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to be formally interviewed.

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You're not prepared to do that.

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Can you send me a letter to say you're not prepared to be interviewed?

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'The following Friday came and went, with no surprises for John.'

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They were true to their word. They didn't come for an interview.

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We've taken advice from our legal department.

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They suggest to issue a fixed penalty notice for each location.

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We've got more than one at each location.

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11 separate locations so they'll get 11 fixed penalty notices.

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'Ouch! It sounds like it could be a lumpy fine. How does that break down into cold hard cash?'

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If they pay within 28 days, it'll be £100 per fixed penalty notice.

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£1,100.

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If they pay within 14 days, that's £60 per fixed penalty notice.

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£660.

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Should they decide to do neither, then it will be court.

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'The stakes of this case are getting higher by the day.

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'With a potential £1,100 fine or even a court case,

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'surely someone will want to deal with this issue, and fast.

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'Find out later how the investigation unfolds

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'when the game of cat and mouse takes another turn.'

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They've upped and moved over the weekend.

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'Could they get the result they need with an early morning stake-out?'

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That's it.

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'In the county of Essex lies Tendring,

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'a district home to Clacton-on-Sea which boasts 36 miles of coastline

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'as well as rolling countryside.

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'For one young man, it's his new home.

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'He's moved out of the big smoke and has brought well-earned skills.'

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I was a police officer in the Metropolitan Police

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as a detective constable on the robbery squad.

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Yeah, I thought I'd come away from London for a little bit

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and live in the country.

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It's a lovely place to live.

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'30-year-old Darren Weaver hasn't come to Tendring for a holiday.

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'For six years, like these officers, he was bringing down criminals

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'to make London a safer place.

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'This talented investigator has been snapped up by Tendring Council

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'to tackle a huge problem that's taking over the countryside -

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'fly-tipping.'

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It really grates that people have no respect for the countryside.

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They feel they can just dump toxic waste, asbestos and dirty nappies.

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Other council tax payers are paying for it to be cleared.

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It's selfish and I suppose it's my job to find out who's done it

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and put them through the courts.

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'Tendring should be beautiful but it's being destroyed by rubbish.

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'Darren gets nearly 40 reports of fly-tipping every week.'

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If we want to find out who's dumped it

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we've got to get our hands dirty.

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Nothing surprises me now.

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'Over a couple of years, fly-tipping has escalated beyond control.

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'It's disgusting and expensive to clear.

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'With all this open countryside, the fields are an easy target,

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'something farmer Guy Smith, who lives on Darren's patch, knows only too well.'

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The problem we have is that because this area is low grass,

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it doesn't just attract wildlife, it attracts lowlife

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who like to dump rubbish or trade waste.

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Then it's my responsibility to sort it out.

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'Guy also takes preventative measures

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'to try to stop people dumping in the first place.'

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We do make an effort to keep people off the fields by putting gates up.

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I don't like to. I don't think it makes the countryside look pretty.

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If you've got people intent on using your land as a rubbish tip

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you have to take preventative action

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to try and discourage people from doing so.

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Here, we've got three or four bags of just household rubbish.

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That'll block the ditch up.

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I'll have to clear it out and get rid of it.

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And it's a nuisance to any aquatic life you've got in the water.

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It makes the countryside look a horrible mess.

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'This dumped rubbish isn't just spoiling the picturesque view.'

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I've had occasions where we've been combining and suddenly look down

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and we notice there's a pram.

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If it had gone through the combine it would have cost thousands.

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Obviously, there's a hazard to livestock.

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Plastics and barrels of God knows what.

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I like to think they're not picking on me, but no!

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Any farmer that's close to a suburban area up against a road will have this sort of problem.

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'But with the arrival of Darren, hopefully, farmers like Guy

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'will have fewer fly-tipping problems.'

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People now know that there's a good chance they'll get caught.

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We will trace them.

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I will find out who's done it, if there's one bit of evidence.

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'Darren is the only officer that covers this massive area.

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'It's early morning and he's out on the road, as usual,

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'making sure everything is in order on his patch of 130 square miles.'

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You get used to it. That's why it's a shame seeing this stuff dumped.

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It's such a lovely district.

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People ruin it by dumping rubbish everywhere.

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'Darren's at the beginning of his round and has got his first stop.'

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As you can see, just by chance...

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You never know what you're going to find when you're driving along.

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'It's an all too common sight, but he needs to be careful.

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'He never knows what dangers could be hidden.

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'His priority is to find clues as to who dumped this.'

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This is what we get on a daily basis.

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The first thing I do is take a picture of it in situ.

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If we trace who's done it, it's evidence for court.

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There could be anything in them bags.

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'While Darren can't predict what's lurking in the bags,

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'he's got it sussed when it comes to profiling the offenders.'

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This is someone who wants to empty their van out quickly.

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Instead of going to the commercial dump, they dump it beside the road.

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People don't care. People are money orientated, aren't they?

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They ain't going to pay the fee down the dump.

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It gets on my wick. It's ridiculous. It's laziness.

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Half these people live local. They've got to live in this mess.

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'To say Darren is fed up with it would be a huge understatement.

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'It only gets worse, much worse.'

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See, look...

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That is spilled onto the land.

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It's alcohol.

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"Isopropanol.

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"Highly flammable."

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The stuff that's dumped in our countryside, eh?

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'It's a mystery to Darren what this is used for.

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'It looks like whoever dumped it bought it for a job.

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'One thing's for sure, it's harmful to the environment.'

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This is obviously farmland.

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The farmer has now got chemicals all over his land.

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'It's not just a danger to the farmer's land or animals.'

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People walk their dogs along here.

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A lot of people don't put their dogs on an extended lead.

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They'll walk down here, sniffing this,

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sticking their nose in here where there's sharp metal.

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There's a razor blade.

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'This makes our Environment Enforcer determined

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'to fight to protect the countryside.'

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If we want to get results, find out who's dumped it,

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I've got to get my hands dirty, get stuck in

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and find the evidence I need for the prosecutions.

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Nine times out of ten I do find stuff.

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People will get prosecuted for it, simple as that.

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That's a chain and a half.

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'Darren needs to find something,

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'anything that will lead him to the person responsible,

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'so justice can be done.

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'And then, he strikes gold.'

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What I've found here...

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It might be nothing but it's a sign within all this building equipment.

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Under a bit of tape, there's a telephone number.

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I might be able to trace this.

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'Just as he thought he wasn't going anywhere,

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'he's got something to move his investigation forward with.'

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I'll get someone to collect it.

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I've got my evidence I need. Building Services.

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It might lead to nothing but it's a start.

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'Darren heads back to the office to see if this clue will lead him closer to the fly-tipper.

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'It's not the only thing on his mind.'

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That will cost, for a company coming to clear that one tub, around £350.

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That's without the cost of the other waste.

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You're looking at £500 to clear. It's ridiculous.

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'Tendring Council's cleansing squad arrives.

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'It's a familiar sight for Dave and Keith.

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'Sadly, these guys are never short of work.'

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Today, we've had a list of, what, 12 jobs to do?

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-12 jobs.

-Nothing but fly-tipping.

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All sorts.

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Every day, like.

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Well, what can you do?

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This looks like oil to me. We get it all the time.

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Drums of this and drums of that.

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Cos we don't know what's in the container, we have to leave it.

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A special crew will come out and pick it up.

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There's not even a lid on that. Normally, there's a lid on it.

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'This fly-tip is just one of 40 that Darren has to deal with on his own

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'every week.

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'He never lets his workload slow him down.

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'Find out later just how determined he is.'

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We will go to the Nth degree to find out.

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They've got no regard for anyone's safety.

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'Darren's determination looks like it might pay dividends.'

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The manager's going to ring me back.

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You've got three or four leads to follow from one bit of card.

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I'm like a dog with a bone. PHONE RINGS

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'Next, a brazen act of fly-tipping and arson

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'that, without technology, could have created a major fire disaster.

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'Across the UK, it's estimated there are 50,000 CCTV cameras

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'owned and operated by local authorities.

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'Increasingly, councils are using CCTV to catch people fly-tipping.

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'In Liverpool, it's used in extreme cases.'

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We've had plenty of hits.

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It's a cracking tool to try and stop these people getting rid of rubbish.

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'In Middlesbrough, CCTV cameras speak to people,

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'telling them to pick their litter up.'

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People know the cameras are there. We've had a 100% success rate.

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'In the shadows of the mills of Burnley CCTV was the deciding factor

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'that brought one rotter to justice after he'd brazenly dumped

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'a van load of rubbish.

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'These chimneys used to billow smoke

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'where much of the world's cotton was produced.

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'In May 2008,

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'the smoke pouring into the sky was from a fire started by a scoundrel

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'who dumped his toxic waste and then set fire to it.'

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The sheer hard-facedness of it all.

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Just to drive up here, respectable chap,

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unload his waste from a respectable company,

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set fire to it and leave it,

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and not care about the environment that nice people of Burnley live in.

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It just beggars belief, to be honest, the brass neck of it all.

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'The scoundrel with the brass neck didn't stand a chance of getting away with this nonchalant act.

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'An eagle-eyed CCTV operator was on his case.

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'He caught the whole thing on camera.'

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So, as he came up Wiseman Street,

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he reversed into here, parked his van up, as you can clearly see,

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opened the doors and was getting the stuffed out of the rear of the van.

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Shoving it into a pile here.

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There was plastic, cardboard, black bags.

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When he'd got it all out of the van, he went and torched it.

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'Unbelievable!

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'The CCTV clearly shows him setting the waste alight.

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'The fire is raging and the idiot is even admiring his own handiwork.

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'After he'd emptied his van, he thinks he's got away with it,

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'but our trusty CCTV operator has dialled 999.

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'Before he manages to make his escape, he's got company.'

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SIRENS BLARE

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The police came

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and the first thing they did was telephone the fire brigade.

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As you can see, he's very close to a telegraph pole with wires attached.

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It could well have affected those wires.

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'As the fire brigade tackles the blaze,

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'the scoundrel had to explain what he thought he was doing.

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'Photos of the aftermath show how bad the fire damage was.

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'It's now two years later

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'and the damage caused is still evident.'

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The fire damage is extreme. This is good Lancashire stone.

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You see by the way it breaks away

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that the heat caused this to flake off.

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This is big stonework.

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That's all caused by fire damage.

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So you can see the intensity of the blaze.

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This is good old-fashioned cotton town stone.

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'With such good quality CCTV, it was an open-and-shut case.

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'The man was fined £800 and ordered to pay £728 costs.

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'It was a good result for Jonathan Jackson from Burnley Council.'

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I was happy there was a conviction.

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You'll have seen this around the country.

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There are no standard guidelines for environmental offences.

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Magistrates, therefore, go for a miscellaneous guideline,

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which perhaps doesn't reflect

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the distress and the anxiety that fly-tipping causes to people.

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Nor does it reflect the cost to the council, and the council tax payer, to clear up.

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'Law breakers might think they can get away with illegal dumping.

0:23:110:23:16

'With CCTV covering hot spots, it's becoming increasingly difficult.'

0:23:160:23:21

On this occasion,

0:23:210:23:23

the CCTV operator was alive to the situation and was able to zoom in on the scene.

0:23:230:23:30

That was our evidence that we took before the courts.

0:23:300:23:34

Fortunately, we don't get too many fly-tips that are set fire to.

0:23:340:23:39

The occasional one, but not many.

0:23:390:23:41

'This was one of those jobs where everything came together neatly.'

0:23:410:23:47

Like all my Christmases at once. A superb job. Very pleased.

0:23:470:23:51

'It's clear that catching a filthy rotten scoundrel bang to rights

0:23:510:23:56

'makes an enviro-enforcer very happy.

0:23:560:23:59

'So, if you're in Burnley and thinking of fly-tipping, I'd think again if I was you.

0:23:590:24:06

'Officers in Hillingdon are playing cat and mouse

0:24:090:24:13

'with the directors of a company

0:24:130:24:16

'for which fly posters have been put up all around the borough.

0:24:160:24:20

'The hunt is more difficult than they bargained for.'

0:24:200:24:25

This is something we never thought would happen.

0:24:250:24:29

They've moved over the weekend.

0:24:290:24:31

'But first...

0:24:310:24:34

'back in Tendring in rural Essex, enviro officer Darren Weaver

0:24:340:24:39

'is investigating a fly-tip on farmland.

0:24:390:24:42

'He's found builder's waste and toxic chemicals spilling out.

0:24:420:24:46

'His case will rest on vital clues from this outrageous mess.'

0:24:460:24:51

This is obviously farmland.

0:24:510:24:54

The farmer has now got chemicals all over his land.

0:24:540:24:57

'With 40 fly-tips reported to Darren every week, it's a common sight.

0:24:570:25:03

'And one that local residents like Linda McWilliams have had enough of.'

0:25:030:25:09

Being a dog owner and a horse owner, some of the items that are dumped,

0:25:090:25:15

you've probably got sharp items.

0:25:150:25:18

You can see, obviously, the large amounts of fly-tipping.

0:25:180:25:23

It is what is around that area that is the problem. You can't see those until you're on top of it.

0:25:230:25:30

There may be other liquids that you don't want to be involved with.

0:25:300:25:35

The situation could be too late and it could be very concerning.

0:25:350:25:40

I don't want anything to happen to my animals, to my horse.

0:25:400:25:45

Why should he go through a lot of misery?

0:25:450:25:48

Why should my dogs go through misery if they pick up something?

0:25:480:25:53

I'd love to catch them.

0:25:530:25:56

When you get mattresses, white goods, everything just dumped

0:25:560:26:01

in a beautiful location like this for whatever reason.

0:26:010:26:05

Why do it? Just don't do it!

0:26:050:26:07

'It's clear how angry the locals are towards these villains.

0:26:070:26:13

'Back at his office, it's crucial Darren's one lead,

0:26:130:26:17

'the phone number, points him in the direction of the fly-tipper.

0:26:170:26:22

'Before he calls the number,

0:26:220:26:24

'he wants to find out more about the chemicals.

0:26:240:26:27

'He doesn't think the manufacturer is responsible,

0:26:270:26:31

'but it's shocking news when he finds out how dangerous the chemicals are.'

0:26:310:26:37

It's an acetone, by the looks of it. Highly flammable.

0:26:370:26:41

"Long-term application to the skin can cause...defatting."

0:26:410:26:47

It strips your skin. Nice(!)

0:26:470:26:50

It's, basically, a very dangerous chemical.

0:26:500:26:55

Burns the skin. It's explosive.

0:26:550:26:57

It's highly flammable.

0:26:570:26:59

It's poured all over the field. It's got no lid on it.

0:26:590:27:03

The council had to pay a specialist contractor to clear that.

0:27:030:27:07

That costs about £350, £400 just for that one container.

0:27:070:27:11

I'm really interested in catching who's done this,

0:27:110:27:15

because they've got no regard for anyone's safety.

0:27:150:27:19

'The perpetrator made one big mistake,

0:27:190:27:23

'chucking out a sign with a phone number on it.

0:27:230:27:27

'Darren needs to find out where it came from. The net is closing in.'

0:27:270:27:33

I'm going to ring that number just to see if I can get a lead on it.

0:27:350:27:41

It's got through to O2 Building Services.

0:27:460:27:49

There's no option to leave a message.

0:27:490:27:53

'Ex policeman Darren's not giving up that easily.'

0:27:530:27:57

See if I can choose a different option to get through to anyone.

0:27:570:28:02

Hello. I wonder if you can help.

0:28:020:28:05

Is there anyone I can speak to about management? ..That's all right.

0:28:050:28:10

It's Darren Weaver. Do you know when they're going to call back?

0:28:120:28:16

Have they got a set time to respond?

0:28:160:28:19

Yeah, it's pretty serious. PUTS PHONE DOWN

0:28:200:28:23

Obviously, they're very concerned.

0:28:230:28:25

The Building Services Manager is going to ring me back.

0:28:250:28:30

'It seems Darren's tenacity has paid off.

0:28:300:28:33

'The sign has come from the O2 arena in Docklands, 70 miles away.

0:28:330:28:37

'Will the manager shed any light on who could have done this?'

0:28:370:28:42

I've e-mailed him the pictures.

0:28:420:28:45

I really hope he can tell me who it is.

0:28:460:28:49

A lot of the stuff that was dumped, I've never seen that stuff before.

0:28:490:28:54

There were ratchets and specific bolts.

0:28:540:28:58

They might be able to tell me a contractor that lives near there.

0:28:580:29:03

Before you know it, you've got three or four leads to follow

0:29:030:29:07

just from one little bit of card you found.

0:29:070:29:10

I'm like a dog with a bone. PHONE RINGS

0:29:100:29:16

Darren Weaver speaking...

0:29:160:29:18

'More like dog AND bone. It's the call Darren's been waiting for.

0:29:180:29:22

'Darren goes through everything he's found to narrow down who might be responsible.'

0:29:220:29:29

The interesting thing is that big massive chain, five metres long.

0:29:290:29:35

Escalators.

0:29:350:29:37

Someone doing escalators would use that chemical maybe, to clean it?

0:29:370:29:43

Would you e-mail me their contact details? Would that be OK?

0:29:430:29:48

I'm hoping they'll say, "We've got one that lives in Tendring."

0:29:480:29:54

Thank you, Ian.

0:29:540:29:56

Cheers, mate. Bye.

0:29:560:29:58

Right. That's interesting.

0:29:580:30:00

What isn't in the picture... I can't take a picture of everything.

0:30:020:30:06

I'd take photos all day.

0:30:060:30:08

But, within that dumped waste, there was a long chain.

0:30:080:30:12

He reckons it could be a lift or escalator company,

0:30:120:30:16

which makes sense.

0:30:160:30:18

'It sounds like he's making good headway. The plot thickens.'

0:30:180:30:23

He's going to e-mail me across all their contractors.

0:30:230:30:27

What I am going to do, I'm going to find out...

0:30:270:30:32

what exactly you would use that chemical for.

0:30:320:30:36

That's quite interesting.

0:30:360:30:38

'Darren's investigation is hotting up.'

0:30:380:30:41

It's used in printing presses.

0:30:410:30:43

Yet another line of enquiry.

0:30:430:30:45

This is someone that probably works in London and lives in Tendring,

0:30:470:30:52

or drives through Tendring.

0:30:520:30:54

It narrows down the people that could do it.

0:30:540:30:57

We're looking for someone that's worked at the O2 arena.

0:30:570:31:02

Either a lift engineer, or works in the printing press industry.

0:31:020:31:07

There's not a million people with that sort of job.

0:31:080:31:12

'Will our intrepid law enforcer track down the Tendring fly-tipper?

0:31:140:31:20

'Could Darren's case be about to hit the buffers?

0:31:210:31:26

'With only a handful of leads left to follow up,

0:31:260:31:29

'will they give Darren a result, or will it be the end of the road?'

0:31:290:31:34

If both these companies say "nothing to do with us"

0:31:340:31:39

there's nothing I can do cos I can't prove it.

0:31:390:31:42

'Find out later if determination is enough to find the fly-tipper.'

0:31:420:31:48

The longer I'm here, the more prosecutions we're getting.

0:31:480:31:52

'Back in Hillingdon, Enforcement Officers John and Alan are still playing cat and mouse,

0:31:520:31:59

'trying to track down the directors of a company

0:31:590:32:02

'for which illegal fly posters have been put up all over their borough.

0:32:020:32:07

'They were asked to come in to explain what's going on, but told John they weren't interested.'

0:32:070:32:14

You're not prepared to come in and be interviewed?

0:32:140:32:18

'The officers are trying to catch up with them and serve fixed penalty notices.

0:32:180:32:24

'The directors could be heading for fines of up to £1,100.

0:32:240:32:29

'A month after they first tried to catch up at their offices,

0:32:290:32:34

'they're hoping to hand over the necessary paperwork.'

0:32:340:32:38

Notices like this it's best to hand deliver. You know they've got them.

0:32:380:32:44

First Class post is classified as good service,

0:32:440:32:48

but they can always say, "I never got them."

0:32:480:32:51

So if you hand deliver, they can't say that.

0:32:510:32:55

A possible outcome is they can tell us to go and have a funny run,

0:32:550:32:59

refuse to see us at all.

0:32:590:33:01

They might come down. You can never tell. You have to play it by ear.

0:33:010:33:06

'The investigation is about to take another turn.

0:33:060:33:10

'They've just got some surprising news.'

0:33:100:33:14

It would appear that they've been at this service block for four to five years, at least.

0:33:140:33:21

And they moved out on Friday.

0:33:210:33:23

Which is a wee bit irritating. All we want to do is serve the notices.

0:33:240:33:29

'You never know what's going to happen until you get there!'

0:33:290:33:34

This is something we never thought would happen, that they've upped and moved over the weekend.

0:33:340:33:41

'The alleged culprits behind the illegal fly-posting are proving difficult to track down.

0:33:410:33:48

'John and Alan decide to check the residential address

0:33:480:33:53

'the director has listed at Companies House.

0:33:530:33:57

'Surprise, surprise(!) There's no-one at home.

0:34:020:34:05

'But John's still got the phone number of the promotions manager.'

0:34:050:34:11

My name is John Davies from Hillingdon. I spoke to you a month ago.

0:34:110:34:16

We've been to the business premises. You don't appear to be there.

0:34:160:34:21

I've got some notices I need to give. Can you tell me where I can come and deliver the notices?

0:34:210:34:29

You're not going to tell us where you are currently? OK, then.

0:34:290:34:34

He's refusing to tell me where the business has relocated.

0:34:340:34:38

He's told me to leave the notices at the premises we were just at,

0:34:380:34:43

which is clearly... Legally, they're not served.

0:34:430:34:48

They'll just say, "We haven't received them," or whatever.

0:34:480:34:52

We will have to do more research. They've been very unhelpful.

0:34:520:34:56

Not really surprised, but there you go.

0:34:560:34:59

'So, this game of hide and seek continues.

0:34:590:35:03

'These two officers are not letting sleeping dogs lie.

0:35:030:35:07

'Will an early morning stake-out give them the result they need?'

0:35:070:35:13

I don't want to get it wrong.

0:35:130:35:15

So we'll just make sure we don't miss anything,

0:35:150:35:19

as we've come to an important stage in the proceedings.

0:35:190:35:24

'Back in the Essex countryside, in the district of Tendring,

0:35:250:35:29

'Darren Weaver is hot on the heels of a fly-tipper

0:35:290:35:33

'that dumped builder's waste and toxic chemicals in a field.

0:35:330:35:37

'He found a sign with a telephone number and started investigating.

0:35:370:35:41

'His enquiries have led him to the O2 arena in London.

0:35:410:35:45

'He thinks it's not the arena itself but a contractor that's responsible.

0:35:450:35:50

'He's determined to find them.'

0:35:500:35:53

I'm like a dog with a bone. PHONE RINGS

0:35:530:35:56

'These investigations are tough to conclude.

0:35:560:36:00

'He's left with two potential leads to follow up.'

0:36:000:36:05

I've got an e-mail come through.

0:36:050:36:07

She's given me the two companies that do shutter doors at the arena.

0:36:070:36:12

One company based in Kent... and Isleworth.

0:36:120:36:16

What I'm going to do is tell them what I'm doing.

0:36:160:36:20

Tell them why I'm doing it.

0:36:200:36:23

And even send them the pictures, let them have a look for themselves,

0:36:230:36:28

and see where I go from there.

0:36:280:36:30

'It's the moment of truth.

0:36:300:36:33

'Will either of the contractors help Darren find the law-breakers

0:36:330:36:37

'who dumped the toxic chemicals on his patch?'

0:36:370:36:41

I work at Tendring, Clacton area.

0:36:410:36:44

I investigate fly-tipping and things like that,

0:36:440:36:48

environmental crime.

0:36:480:36:50

The fly-tipping was near Clacton.

0:36:500:36:53

I was wondering if any of your engineers live near or around Essex.

0:36:530:36:58

If I e-mailed you with some pictures of the stuff that was dumped,

0:36:580:37:03

would you or an engineer have a look at them?

0:37:030:37:06

You're experts and if it's not you, you may be able to help me.

0:37:060:37:11

Cheers, then. Bye.

0:37:110:37:13

'It's not looking good for Darren.'

0:37:130:37:17

They're from Kent. None of their engineers live in the area.

0:37:170:37:21

They haven't undertaken work this side of the river for a long time.

0:37:210:37:26

She did say I can e-mail her the pictures.

0:37:260:37:30

She'll see if anyone there recognises it.

0:37:300:37:34

If both companies say "nothing to do with us", there's nothing I can do.

0:37:340:37:40

I can't prove it. I've got no evidence that links them strongly.

0:37:400:37:44

I've got a sign that's moveable and a couple of lumps of metal.

0:37:440:37:49

'For the time being, Darren's got nowhere else to turn.

0:37:490:37:53

'Catching the culprit is never guaranteed.

0:37:530:37:57

'However, he's already seeing a massive improvement.'

0:37:570:38:01

I've worked for the council for six months.

0:38:010:38:05

The longer I'm here, the more prosecutions we're getting

0:38:050:38:08

because of the contacts I'm building up.

0:38:080:38:12

It was one in every ten fly-tips I'd solve.

0:38:120:38:16

Now it's one in every five. It's going to be one in two.

0:38:160:38:19

Or every fly-tip, unless they've been very, very careful.

0:38:190:38:24

'Fly-tippers, take note. The more you dump on Darren's patch

0:38:240:38:28

'the more likely he is to catch you red-handed.

0:38:280:38:32

'Back to the officers in Hillingdon.

0:38:340:38:37

'They're still playing cat and mouse with the directors of a company

0:38:370:38:41

'for which fly-posters have been put up all over their borough.'

0:38:410:38:46

It's an environmental issue, an eyesore.

0:38:460:38:50

It's not what people want to see.

0:38:500:38:54

'John and Alan are determined to catch the people responsible.

0:38:540:38:59

'With a potential £1,100 fine, the directors don't want any contact.

0:38:590:39:04

'They've decided to catch them when they leave home in the morning.

0:39:040:39:09

'They simply need to hand over the notices so they have proof they've been received.'

0:39:090:39:16

I don't want to get it wrong.

0:39:160:39:19

So...we'll just make sure that we don't miss anything,

0:39:190:39:24

as we've come to such an important stage in proceedings.

0:39:240:39:29

'It looks a bit more promising than before.

0:39:290:39:33

'There are cars around, but will anybody be in?'

0:39:330:39:37

I'd say that there's a 100% chance that she's in,

0:39:370:39:41

and a 100% chance that she doesn't want to answer the door.

0:39:410:39:44

If she rushes out and rushes off before we can get to her...

0:39:440:39:50

I will just post the notices, then. It's clear she's there.

0:39:500:39:54

Clearly, she doesn't want to speak to us.

0:39:540:39:58

And there'll be no circumstances

0:39:580:40:01

in which she'll not be able to say she's not received the notices.

0:40:010:40:08

'A short while later, there's some activity which doesn't help John and Alan.'

0:40:080:40:15

Have you still got the door? I can see the car.

0:40:150:40:19

'It appears that no-one's left the house.

0:40:190:40:24

'But then, John sees the front door open.

0:40:240:40:29

'Before John and Alan get a chance to get to the woman's house,

0:40:290:40:33

'this silver car has rushed in to pick her up and sped off.

0:40:330:40:37

'She's done a runner before they could hand her the £1,100 of fixed penalty notices.

0:40:370:40:44

'And the driver of the car that collected her

0:40:440:40:48

'narrowly misses hitting oncoming traffic.'

0:40:480:40:52

What just happened is that Gillian, who we've seen leaving,

0:40:520:40:56

her business partner has picked her up, a chap I know as Brian.

0:40:560:41:02

She's called him in because she doesn't want to leave in her own car.

0:41:020:41:08

He came in here quickly, picked her up, gone like a flash.

0:41:080:41:13

That's enough for good service of these notices.

0:41:130:41:18

'It's the end of a two-day game of cat and mouse but their job is done.

0:41:200:41:26

'And there's a twist of irony to this case.'

0:41:260:41:31

No junk mail, then they go round fly-posting.

0:41:310:41:35

You've got to laugh, really.

0:41:350:41:37

They don't want junk, but they don't mind sticking it all over council furniture.

0:41:370:41:43

'A month later, John had to re-serve the fixed penalty notices

0:41:430:41:48

'to the company secretary at the offices he previously visited.

0:41:480:41:52

'They were collected by the company who had 28 days to pay, but didn't.'

0:41:520:41:57

The state of play is

0:41:570:41:59

we need to complete the file of court process and get our legal department to summons them.

0:41:590:42:06

I don't know what the situation is at the moment.

0:42:060:42:10

Only time will tell as to the reasons why they haven't paid.

0:42:100:42:15

Perhaps they fancy their chances.

0:42:150:42:17

Hope they'll be acquitted. Who knows?

0:42:170:42:21

'John is waiting for this to be resolved, but there is good news.'

0:42:210:42:27

Functions are still going ahead.

0:42:270:42:29

But since we started proceedings, they've put no more up.

0:42:290:42:33

Just from that side of it, it's been a success!

0:42:330:42:37

We've stopped them from putting more signs up.

0:42:370:42:41

'This case did eventually reach a conclusion.

0:42:420:42:46

'The company came forward and paid the fines, which amounted to £660.

0:42:460:42:50

'John and his colleague's game of cat and mouse paid off.

0:42:500:42:55

'Job done!

0:42:550:42:57

'Join us next time, hot on the heels of more filthy rotten scoundrels.'

0:42:570:43:02

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