£1,040 costs for jet wash fly tipper from west York

Dumping waste at two service stations’ jet washes has resulted in a van driver being ordered to pay £1,040 by York Magistrates.

On 9 February 2017, Nathan Lofthouse, (aged 28 of Askham Croft, York) used a hand-held jet wash at the Inner Space Station, Hull Road, York, to clean his trailer. Having spent over an hour there, he drove away leaving behind bagged and loose wood and rubble, which took the business over an hour to clear away.

On 12 February 2017, Nathan Lofthouse visited the Co-op Texaco service station, Boroughbridge Road, York in a white Ford Luton van, to use their jet wash because of a spillage of paint in the back. He was seen on CCTV removing tins of paint, buckets and a metal box and put them by the jet wash. Mr Lofthouse spent two hours at the jet wash, during which time he was asked twice to make sure he removed the waste. Upon leaving, Mr Lofthouse left the waste behind.

Mr Lofthouse was interviewed about the two fly tipping offences by council officers in April 2017. He admitted both, claiming he had left the waste at the Inner Space Station by accident, whilst he said his visit to the Co-op Texaco garage was an emergency as he had been distracted by the paint spillage.

Mr Lofthouse was asked to pay a fixed penalty notice however after several reminders, they remained unpaid.

On Tuesday 2 January 2018, Mr Lofthouse attended York Magistrates Court and pleaded guilty to both offences. He was sentenced to a total fine of £410 for both offences, costs of £600 and a court surcharge of £30.

In court, Mr Lofthouse claimed that both offences were an oversight by him, that he went back after a few days, and that as everything had been cleared away he’d lost money as some items were valuable.

Cllr Andrew Waller, interim deputy leader and executive member for the environment, said: “Dumping waste on a business’s property for them to bear the cost of cleaning up is unacceptable. That some of the materials were contaminants makes it worse.

“For information on commercial waste go to www.york.gov.uk/waste or the Environment Agency at www.gov.uk/guidance/access-the-public-register-for-environmental-information. To report fly-tipping or illegal waste disposal please contact neo.york.gov.uk .”

Taxi driver to pay £1,404 for illegally plying for trade

A taxi driver who was found to have illegally plied for trade in York has been ordered to pay a total £1,404 and was given six points on his driving licence.

In August 2017 as part of a joint enforcement operation, City of York Council officers and North Yorkshire Police were carrying out routine checks of taxis and private hire vehicles in York city centre. Sohail Ahmed (aged 45 of Wensleydale Road, Bradford) was stopped on Holgate Road, while driving a Hackney carriage licensed by Rossendale Borough Council.
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Appeal for witnesses following an assault in Acomb Front Street

11-15 Front Street

Officers are appealing for witnesses and information following an assault in Acomb which happened in the early hours of yesterday, Friday 29 December 2017.

Police received reports of an altercation involving a number of men and women outside Boyes on Front Street Acomb, shortly before 12.40am.

Upon arrival, officers found five men and four women to be involved in the altercation and an assault had also taken place.

A 23 year old man has sustained injuries after being punched and kicked, and a 33 year old man has sustained an injury to his head and hand.

Two men from York, aged 23 and 33, were arrested in connection with the incident. Both men have been released under investigation while enquiries continue.

Anyone who witnessed the incident or who has any information is asked to contact police. Dial 101, press 2 and ask to speak to York Investigation Hub.

Alternatively, Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Please quote reference number 12170231267 when passing on any information.

Crime meeting hears residents concerns

Considering the date and location, last night’s meeting to consider policing standards in York attracted a good turnout.

There was little more to report on delays in answering 101 calls although the Police were able to say that on average all non-emergency calls were answered within 90 seconds. Residents were told that a standard 15p (flat rate) fee applied to all 101 calls. There has been a big increase in the numbers of people using the service.

Many residents from the Foxwood and Woodthorpe areas attended the meeting and complained about ongoing anti-social behaviour problems.  A sharp increase in criminal damage incidents had been noted earlier in the year and figures produced for the Westfield Ward (left) showed a steady monthly increase in reports up to the end of October.

The Police explained that they had transferred PCSOs staff into permanent (City Centre) Police officer posts earlier in the year. Many of these had come from sub-urban areas. This might explain why communication links between the Police and Residents Associations stalled in January 2017, and are only now being reinstated.

More recently an increase in police patrols – and the use of social media including twitter (https://twitter.com/NPTYorkSouth) – had been noted. This included a high-profile attempt to take some of the “scooter gangs” off local roads.

Crime distribution in the Westfield ward in October 2017

The performance and transparency of the Safer York partnership was criticised. The Councils web site provides access to the minutes of the organisations last meeting which apparently took place in December 2016 (click). Those attending the public meeting were assured that another meeting had taken place since, although the claimed two monthly frequency was not being achieved (click).

In any event, the Safer York web site is over 2 years out of date and includes a message, urging visitors to help flood victims, prominent on the “what’s on” page!! (https://www.saferyorkpartnership.co.uk/latest-news/)

Nor is the North Yorkshire Police web site much more up to date.  In the neighbourhood’s section they assure residents that the last “event” – property marking – took place last March. There are no events planned for 2018. (click)

Plans to reinvigorate the “Neighbourhood Watch” scheme were announced by Cllr Andrew Waller while most attendees were appreciative of the trouble taken by Cllr Ashley Mason to organise the meeting. Senior police officers present were able to reassure residents that a recovery plan was in place and that the expectations were that policing standards next summer would be higher.

For their part, residents wanted to see more proactive policing with the emphasis being on preventing crime rather than reacting to incidents that had already taken place.

This would mean a sustained improvement in all communication channels and the likely reversal of the trend to centralise resources into the City centre generally and West Offices in particular.

Police tax level consultation starts in York

Click to take survey

The Police and Crime Commissioner is asking residents to complete an online survey.

Little background information is provided on the options available which are essentially a freeze (which would cut the police budget in real terms) or a 1.99% increase (the maximum that the government will allow unless a ridiculously expensive referendum is held)

If you opt for a referendum, then you are offered a choice of paying £5 year more, between £5 and £10 and over £10 a year.

There are only limited opportunity on the survey to mention crime concerns although one of the response boxes does allow you to write in that you think your additional contribution should be ringfenced to address, for example, anti-social behaviour issues.

“NO HOME HERE” campaign launched by Police to tackle community harm

North Yorkshire Police has today (Wednesday 6 December 2017) launched a five-month campaign to help protect vulnerable victims of crime.

Titled “NO HOME HERE”, the campaign is designed to raise public awareness about a range of emotionally and physically harmful crimes that often go unnoticed because the victims are living in fear.

The intention is to highlight the patterns of behaviour of both the victims and those responsible for the harm, to the wider community and encourage reports into police via 101 or in an emergency via 999.

Online and media publicity is being used to promote the campaign, including targeted leaflets and posters to a range of people and organisations who are likely to come into contact with both victims and offenders.

With this increased awareness to spot the tell-tale signs, North Yorkshire Police is calling upon everybody in the local community to be extra vigilant and report incidents, either directly to the police or via an alternative reporting channel such as a dedicated charity.

The five strands of community harm that will be focused on during the campaign are:

  • domestic abuse (December)
  • child neglect (January)
  • stalking and harassment  (February)
  • hate (March)
  • modern slavery and human trafficking  (April)

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Front Street greengrocer fined and banned

Ordered to pay £9,600 for hygiene and waste offences

 A greengrocer has been ordered to pay a total £9,624.32 having been found guilty of 12 food hygiene and waste disposal offences at his shop.

On 3 November 2017, York Magistrates Court found Gary Anderson (aged 54) of Northfield Lane, Riccall, guilty in his absence of a number of offences relating to food hygiene, environmental health and waste disposal at his shop on Front Street, Acomb.

These included not acting to prevent a rat infestation, presenting food not fit for human consumption, displaying an incorrect food hygiene rating and failing to dispose of waste correctly.

At the hearing on 3 November, a warrant was issued for his arrest and he was taken into custody yesterday (23 November 2017).

At Friday’s hearing, York Magistrates imposed £300 fines for each of four offences to which Anderson had pleaded guilty. The Magistrates also imposed £400 fines for each of eight offences which Anderson was found guilty of at trial. While recognising that Anderson had spent a day in custody, he was also ordered to pay a court surcharge of £170.

The Magistrates deemed the one day’s detention Anderson had spent in the court cells served for having missed the trial on 3 November. The fines totalled £4,4000.

A Hygiene Prohibition Order was also made preventing Anderson from participating in the management of any food business for an unlimited period.

The Magistrates told Anderson: “It is reasonable the public should not have to foot the costs of the investigation and order you pay the full prosecution costs.” These totalled £5,054.32.

The Magistrates added: “This is a very serious breach of the regulations, putting the public at risk. You were clearly given advice and chose to disregard it and continued doing so for many months”

The shop has since closed.

Advice on food hygiene is available at www.york.gov.uk/FoodSafetyStandards or by calling (01904) 551525. Please report incorrect waste disposal by calling (01904) 551551.

Police appeal following burglary in Woodthorpe

North Yorkshire Police are appealing for witnesses and information about a burglary that occurred in the Woodthorpe area of York.

It occurred on the evening of Friday 17th November 2017, where amongst other items a handbag was stolen.

The handbag is black in colour with one large middle pocket and two smaller pockets either side, possibly with a flowery “Cath Kidston” purse inside.

The purse has in it irreplaceable photos of great sentimental value.

If anyone finds the handbag or purse they should contact us on 101, select option 2, and ask for Mark Cook. You can also email mark.cook@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk

If you wish to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Please quote the North Yorkshire Police reference number 12170207175