Rotting rubbish is attracting rats at the former home of Wolverhampton ring road tramp Fred.
Council chiefs say they do not know when the unsightly mess will be cleared away, but have promised to treat the former home of the 86-year-old with dignity.
Fred, real name Josef Stawinoga, was a much-loved figure in the city and lived on Ring Road St John’s for some 30 years.
He was often seen sweeping leaves and rubbish outside his ramshackle tent before his death last week from pneumonia.
The tent has been taken away, but a thick layer of rubbish has been left under the bush next to his former home.
Now there are calls for it to be cleaned away.
Catherine Drew, aged 34, of Penn, said: “The area where his tent was has been tidied up but under the bush it is a real mess and I saw a couple of rats there running around as I sat in my car.”
Regeneration boss Councillor Peter Bilson said: “It will be tidied up. The council is very keen to ensure it’s done discreetly and with dignity.
“We’re certainly on top of it as far as the environmental and health and safety issues are concerned.”
Mystery has surrounded the past of Polish Fred, who settled in Wolverhampton after the war. Conflicting stories claim he was either a Polish soldier or an SS guard.
His death has prompted demands for a memorial to be erected.
A sub-group has even sprung up, calling for part of the Wolverhampton Ring Road to be named after him.
20 Comments
There are rats everywhere. I’ve seen them in the bushes at the edge of Asda, on the Molineux carpark, outside the Novotel, at the side of the police opposite the courts, they’re probably in most shopping precincts. I don’t think the rats have thought “Oh there’s a big pile of rubbish on the ring road now Fred’s dead let’s move in on it”, they’ve probably been there for years. I really don’t think a it deserves a newspaper story.
ANON, I completely agree with you, what a waste of web space and column inches
Comments 1 & 2 totally agree. If we all phoned into E & S to say we saw a rat the paper would be filled with these stupid stories in minutes!
The council do not know when the rubbish is going to be collected? For gods sake, it’s not like its a huge burden. Get off your damn fat asses and fix this or resign!
You really think that this is going to be thge first time that rats have been to this site??? I am sure that there have been rich pickings for rats and infestations lurking around here for about 30 years since the Tramp was first allowed to set up camp - a truely disgusting mess.
PMSL..
How many rats live in Wolverhampton…no one is less than 6 foot away from one.
The council need to send in the men with very tight trouser legs …and get the mess cleaned up!
rats are everywhere, i agree it should be cleaned up as soon as possible.what a waste of printing ink!
R.I.P Fred, god bless you
Fred dies…after keeping it clean and tidy….
the council take it back and…..
well no surprise really they have left it a mess.
Why these fat council leaders can’t get off their lazy fat backsides and clean it up themselves I will never know. Its not like it would take a lot of effort.
What a great loss to Wolverhampton, he was almost a part of Wolverhampton and his loss to us will be felt by all. Ring Road will never be the same, neither will Wolverhampton. I agree with most of the comments above, definately a big statue of him with his broom should be erected with a plaque saying some things about him. This will be seen for generations to come, as I saw him when I was young and my parents, it will become a symbol and feature in Wolverhampton! I beg and humbly request the Wolverhampton Council to erect this statue and memorial for him!
R.I.P. JOSEPH - We will never forget you!
(P.S. Anyone know when the funeral is going to be and where can we donate for his funeral as well as memorial?)
I see dirty RATS all over city centre especially in Broad Street behind food outlets.
I wonder if it would be better for any monies raised in memory of Mr Stawinoga, to be given to a shelter for the homeless? Surely the cash raised ould be better used in that way, rather than for a bench or something similar. There are plenty of empty benches in cemetries - do I make my point?
I think that Wolverhampton is dirty and needs to be cleaned up. But Wolverhampton is a bug city we must give the council time to prepare themselves. I think the Express And star is fantastic
Dear Anon, the government has probably got its set funds for charity etc anyway, and we dont want a bench, we want a massive statue of him with his broom in his hand (maybe even a statue of his tent next to the statue of him), it will become a feature in wolverhampton, for generations to come, add to Wolverhamptons long history and beauty…….if the council wants to put a bench there, then they might as well forget that, and do what anin says, give the money to charity, but NO BENCH PLEASE - we want a state-of-the-art statue of him and his broom in hios hand (maybe even tent) with a plaque about him at the bottom. There are also many many many people who want to donate for this, so funds will not be a problem once the council opens the doors for this. AGAIN I BEG THE COUNCIL for this, I am sure they will listen……….
RIP FRED!!!
I agree with Ryan as well, EXPRESS & STAR IS FANTASTIC!!!!! Many thanks to Express and Star for doing all these beautiful unbiased stories about Fred (unlike that tv “news channel” we all know about who making false stories without basis first). Keep up the good work express & star and I hope you will be able to give our views to the Wolverhampton council.
Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!
Rob Wolf, you are an idiot. This is Fred’s rubbish! Where do you think he went to the toilet and disposed of his food and other rubbish for all those years he lived in his squalid tent?
didn’t take long for the council to move in and take it over (i guess that is the type of rat/s you are talking about)
Is everyone losing the plot? This was a filthy old tramp! How many of you regularly buy the Big Issue?
Did you ever meet Fred, Adam? Well then shut it! Fred was a lovely old man!!! A statue is a great idea!!!
Jade, I had the wonderful job or arranging the clearance of his mounds of rubbish and tramp-faeces from the central verge. Did YOU ever meet him Jade? I doubt it very much. You may have walked past him or driven past him but did you ever KNOW him? Of course you didn’t because he was a filthy flea-ridden tramp who used the grass verge as his toilet and encouraged rats to breed through hoarding piles of rubbish.
i think that any monies that are left over that he left should go to the homeless or they be given shelter. no one should be living like that anyway, and lets not forget he chose to live like it, why is beyond me.