Is this fly-tipping?

[sandbach99]

Blackpool council have threatened a 79 year old man with a fine or imprisonment for returning to the beach sand which has blown into his garden, the council accuse him of fly-tipping.

What should he do with the sand?

Found on teletext

[McNoodle]

Build a castle.

[redcrx]

posts it to the council offices with a note asking if they can dispose it for him.

All the better if he can find a bit of sand with dog poo in it

[anotheoldgit]

He could do like they did in the Great Escape. Put the sand in bags hung underneath his trouser's legs, then take a walk along the beach and slowly release the sand out of the bags. Make sure the council's Gestapo are not watching though.

[ludwig]

Last time I went to Blackpool, there were open sewers running out onto the beach. I distinctly remember stepping over turds and tampons.*
They obviously don't mind tipping sh1ite onto the beach themselves, but they draw the line at the unauthorised dumping of sand.

*In fairness I should point out this was 30 years ago. I'd like to think it's different now.

[manxbiker]

get intouch with the council and tell them he has some of there property that has been left in his garden and tell them to come and collect it

[casaespana]

anotheoldgit, surely that film was called Escape To Victory.

[dot.hawkes]

no it was deffo the Great Escape.

he should carry on taking the sand back and if they insist on prosecuting him, he should let them, I hope he does, it would be very interesting.

[Hammer Head]

manxbiker - 'their property.'

[Neilzulu1]

This is saddo Blackpool council trying to make a few quid as they lost out on the super casino. They should try and make their messy streets a bit cleaner instead of picking on this bloke.

[noxlumos]

Well you're not supposed to TAKE sand from the beach, so if I were him I'd bag it up and take it to the local police station under the guise that he realises that the council's sand has turned up on his property and he doesn't want to risk being charged with "theft by finding".
I'd imagine the police will quickly get very fed up and if they tell him to take it back to the beach then it's something he can show in court if the council do decide to get funny.
Absolutely absurd situation isn't it?

[coco pops]

I think he should bag it up and sell it. Council won't like him making money out of the situation.

[dot.hawkes]

it has cost him 100s of pounds to get some blokes in to shovel it up and tale if to the tip, there was tons of it, he should have sold it! bet those blokes he paid to move it did sell it!

[tara20]

Give the council a time limit to collect their property and if it's not collected send them a bill for storing it! Talk about bureaucracy gone mad, you couldn't make it up!
Btw, the first film to use the sandbags in trousers was, if I remember correctly , The Password is Courage.

[lady_p_gold]

I bet there is more to this than meets the eye, I used to be involved in the world of flytipping and the amount that you and I pay for this is quite staggering it is millions and millions ... I am not saying so in this case but I have had many similar and then it turns out that their son just happens to be a builder and has a ton of rubble to get rid of etc. etc. so I would want to know more of the facts.

[shopper]

I was visiting St Annes in Blackpool at the end of January, and couldnt believe the amount of sand that had been blown from the beach to to cover all the roads and gardens.
It wasnt a small amount, in some places it was like sand dunes banking against peoples walls and fences. Pavements, roads and gardens were under several inches of sand. We drove though it.
There must have been tons of the stuff, over quite a large area.
To be so heavy handed with this pensioner is discusting, they should be helping him and everyone else to remove the problem, not giving out theats.
The obvious thing to do is return it to the beach, and they should be doing it for him.

[shopper]

Should have mentioned in my answer that the sand had been blown there by the terrible gale force winds on the l8th January. I saw it one week later.

[sandbach99]

Thanks for your replies.

This council is Fylde council, the town Lythem St Anns {posh area}

Gentleman is a retired Bank Manager who lives in what looks like a rather nice house across a narrow road from the beach and some low sand-dunes, with lawns covered in sand.
On the TV it showed the road and footpaths covered in sand, it did look like a cul-de-sac.

The councils response to the TV show " it's one of the problems you get living by the sea"

If there is a hidden story it maybe the residents ask the council to keep the sand on the beach, which is impossible.

[johnny37]

The council dont seem to know their rights or powers here. If a branch falls off your neighbour's tree into your garden it is rightfully his and you may give it back to him. I often think about doing this with the ton of leaves which fall on my drive every year. They are a pain to get rid of. I would let the council take me to court and call the newspapers.