NETWORK Rail and British Transport Police have joined forces to tackle graffiti and rubbish at Spalding’s Steppingstone railway footbridge.
Despite a recent clean-up at the bridge following a campaign by South Holland district councillor Roger Gambba-Jones, which included repainting and the removal of a skip full of waste, Network Rail is worried the problem will recur unless action is taken.
Vicki Beadle, community safety manager for Network Rail, said: “People are using the railway as a dumping ground, which not only causes serious safety issues but also costs thousands of pounds to tackle – money better spent on improving the railway.”
Now the company is working with the British Transport Police (BTP) to look at ways of tackling the problem, while also calling for more bins on the area.
A BTP spokesman added: “Writing graffiti on the railway or fly-tipping on railway property is not a harmless pastime – it is nothing more than criminal damage, costing thousands of pounds to clean up and is something we take extremely seriously, actively seeking to catch and prosecute those who commit such crimes.”
Coun Gambba-Jones said he welcomed the news action is to be taken and said new bins were being installed and Community Payback teams were being used to clear up neighbouring areas.