LEGAL action could begin as early as next week if a Spalding grot-spot is not cleaned up.
Network Rail has been accused of dragging its heels over removing rubbish from the area around the town’s Steppingstone Bridge.
And South Holland district councillor Coun Roger Gambba-Jones has warned the company it has until the end of the week to finally move in, or he will “call their bluff” and resort to the courts.
Coun Gambba-Jones said: “Network Rail called me on Friday afternoon to say they had been unable to come last week because of a death further up the line.
“It seems they only have one small team on the ground, so they had been delayed getting here but they promised it would now be towards the end of this week, from Wednesday onwards.”
Problems at Steppingstone Bridge have been ongoing for a long time and include large quantities of litter under the bridge, repeated graffiti problems on the bridge’s enclosed sides, a lack of lighting and an unattractive fence.
Last month Coun Gambba-Jones received the support of fellow South Holland district councillors to press ahead with his campaign to force Network Rail to take action, after he compared the area to “something you would expect to see in the less pleasant areas of large inner cities that have been neglected for decades”.
He told members he would be applying to magistrates for a litter abatement notice.
Coun Gambba-Jones had hoped to get the area cleaned up ahead of Spalding Flower Parade earlier this month as he felt it gave the wrong impression of the town to the thousands of visitors to the major event.
He said: “I now have two direct dial telephone numbers for people I need to speak to at Network Rail rather than going through customer services, so hopefully we are making progress.
“I’m going to give them a last chance and if there is no-one here by the end of the week I will go to court.
“I’m not going to stand for any more delays.”