Sores face £1,000 trolley fine
Supermarkets could face fines of up to £1,000 if they fail to clear away abandoned shopping trolleys from car parks in Kidderminster.
The district council has met with British Waterways and leading supermarkets in the town to thrash out a plan to tackle the long standing problem.
Kidderminster now has one of the worst rates in the country for abandoned or dumped trolleys.
British Waterways staff have been fishing up to four trolleys a week out of the Staffordshire and Worcestershire canal.
Dozens of trolleys are regularly abandoned in Pipe Mills and Market Street car park.
In 2005, more than 200 trolleys were found dumped in the canal near Tesco in Weaver's Wharf leaving the firm with a huge replacement bill of up to £15,000.
The cabinet member for property and operational services, councillor Marcus Hart held a meeting with representatives from Tesco, Sainsbury's, Marks & Spencer, Wilkinsons, the Environment Agency, British Waterways and the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership.
Councillor Hart reminded the stores of their responsibilities to secure their trolleys and collect them every day. All stores agreed to join forces to tackle the problem.
Council enforcement officers and car park staff will now be patrolling more rigorously. The partnership will have a six month trial run and reviewed in the new year. If stores do not comply they could face legal action.
Councillor Hart said: "We need to ensure that there is more security on the car parks at night time. We had a positive meeting and we're taking a softly softly approach at the moment.
"We will meet again in the new year but if things don't improve we do have the power to dish out fines to repeat offenders."
By Sol Buckner
