Scarborough Council step in to clear three tonnes of waste fly-tipped in church driveway

Scarborough Borough Council have stepped in to remove around three tonnes of building waste after it was fly-tipped into the driveway of St Luke's Church off Stepney Drive.

The vicar of St. Mark's & St. Luke's, the Rev. Shena Moray-Evans voiced her dismay after discovering the rubble, glass and building waste which completely covered the drive, blocking vehicle access to the church.

Rev. Moray-Evans said: "St. Luke's is a working Church with Services every Sunday.

"If we had a funeral booked this morning the hearse could not access the Church and a coffin would have had to be manually passed over the rubble.

"In the last few weeks we have held a funeral, christening, private memorial service and a lovely memorial service with the hospital antenatal services and Revd. Chris Hayes, lead Chaplain for the York NHS trust.

"I think people should be made aware of this heartless act of vandalism and think how they would feel if their family had booked a wedding, funeral, christening or other event and had to scramble over their thoughtlessness to access the Church."

"I have reported the incident to both the Council and the Police. The council have been in touch and as it is private land, they are not obliged to deal with it.

"However, because it doesn't sit well with them they will come and move it."

A spokesman for Scarborough Council said: "Fly-tipping is illegal, is a blight on the landscape and costs money to clear at the expense of local council tax payers.

"We are not obliged to deal with waste dumped on private land, but on this occasion, we are happy to assist.

"We have been in touch with the church to arrange for the fly-tipped materials to be cleared and disposed of as a gesture of goodwill.

"The vast majority of waste collection firms are legitimate but we always ask that residents or businesses check that any company they hire to take away waste is registered with the Environment Agency."