Forum Topic

ASBO menace!

A warning to us all - a very antisocial citizen has been apprehended and fined £150 for pouring the dregs of her Costa coffee down a storm grating ... see https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg435gg66gpo ... lucky not to have ended up with a long custodial sentence IMHO! (PS, you really couldn't make it up!)

Davey Harris ● 7d27 Comments

In all these cases, you must remember that they have to have the offence on camera. If one ever gets a penalty notice, they will drop it if you request the footage, as you will be challenging the fine at a later date.

Julian Pavey ● 4d

Looks like Richmond has bucked the nationwide trend of a reducing gender pay gap over the last decade.

Andrew Jones ● 4d

https://www.richmond.gov.uk/services/public_health/public_health_publications/jsna/jsna_people

Philippa Bond ● 5d

I’ve never seen an e-bike in Richmond being ridden ‘unhindered’ Regarding other ‘crimes’ that the environment team should be looking at, they’d struggle to keep busy. Even overall crime ensures an easy life for proper police. “ Royal Borough of Richmond upon Thames in London has a low crime rate, with 56 crimes per 1,000 people, making it the second safest borough in London.”

Steve Taylor ● 5d

Didn't realize it wasn't the  met. Only ever seen one team in Chiswick and that's the Met. Hammersmith has a secondary teams and I've seen them take far too long to rifle through trash in search of something incriminating. As Peter says, meanwhile...

David Lesniak ● 5d

These subcontracted anti-asbo teams often hover round town centres waiting to pounce on children or pensioners dropping sweet wrappers or pouring something harmless into the gutter so as to boost their hit rate and commission. Meanwhile, we have illicit e-bikes being ridden all over the place unhindered.

Peter Evans ● 6d

These subcontracted anti-asbo teams often hover round town centres waiting to pounce on children or pensioners dropping sweet wrappers or pouring something harmless into the gutter so as to boost their hit rate and commission. Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Borough…

Peter Evans ● 6d

It wasn't the Met. Rather it was the local authority equivalent of the Stasi. Took three of them to do this.

N V Brooks ● 6d

I read about this in today's New York Times. Absurd.Plenty of toxins on the road surface already being washed into the river. Where do you think that oil/gas/anti-freeze leak goes in the rain? Through some magical sorting device buried in the pipe???An embarrassment to the Met Police. Can't deal with shop lifting or ASB but boy did they get her for pouring out a cuppa.

David Lesniak ● 6d

Lib Dem whimps. Never tough it out and stick to their guns. Almost as bad as Labour for U turns.

Steve Taylor ● 6d

“council would have cancelled if an appeal had been made”Mmmm … I wonder

Andrew Jones ● 6d

'On BBC news the lady said she asked the officers where she should have disposed of the coffee and they pointed to the rubbish bin next to the bus stop. She maintains that she thought that would be too messy. Not sure why because the bins are lined with heavy duty bags.'She has since made it clear that the coffee was in a reusable mug so she would literally have had to pour just liquid into the bin, which would be ridiculous.LB RoT have withdrawn the fine despite insisting that they were correct to issue it. What can possibly have changed their minds, I wonder?

Susan Kelly ● 6d

The council has cancelled the fine and says it would have done so had an appeal been lodged. Seems the media coverage prompted the change of heart.It’s not unusual to see people pouring things down drains, particularly builders. They seem to get away with it though.

Simon Hayes ● 6d

The fish might appreciate some caffeine after all the other waste.

Janice Evans ● 6d

If it does goes straight into the river ( and given that Richmond is so near the river seems more than likely), then sadly that also means that all the particulate polution getting washed off the roads into the drains also ends up going into the river.https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/sep/04/englands-road-runoff-pollution-problem-being-ignored-mps-told

Andrew Jones ● 7d

If memory serves me, from an environmental lecture in Richmond I attended some years ago, the water collected in street drains in Richmond goes directly to the River Crane or River Thames, and isn’t diluted with sewage and flowed to Mogden for processing. Hence the Richmond Authority enforce the  EPA to ensure no other liquids contaminate the water which could affect wild life etc. so the Council is doing its job and doing it well.  On BBC news the lady said she asked the officers where she should have disposed of the coffee and they pointed to the rubbish bin next to the bus stop. She maintains that she thought that would be too messy. Not sure why because the bins are lined with heavy duty bags.

Steve Taylor ● 7d

You might be correcthttps://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6683d9b24e8630de328546a1/Code_of_practice_for_litter_and_refuse__Part_1A.pdfmakes no mention of any requirement for a suspected offender to identify themselves. If there was any requirement on an individual to provide details to a CEO I would have expected to see some mention of it in this government issued code of practice.

Andrew Jones ● 7d

These jobworths have no power to detain you and have no right to insist that you identify yourself.

Keith Iddon ● 7d

But surely drains are designed to drain away water.I can understand this if it had been hazardus chemicals or oil of some kind that she was pouring,but coffee or tea which is 99% water?Ridiculous.

Keith Iddon ● 7d

Yes we all know that sewage isn’t supposed to be dumped in a water course but  we all know that it is!  The main perpetrator being Thames Water. Interesting that the Lib Dem’s controlling Richmond did nothing about Thames Water when they were a coalition government

Steve Taylor ● 7d

>for coffee in a gutter given that it will be washed down a drain to mix in with all the sewage dumped by Thames Water. Sewerage is not supposed to be dumped into water courses and neither is coffee.

Paul James ● 7d

Chiswick stall holders needn’t worry at all because they are in Hounslow Borough which doesn’t care a jot about litter or ASB.

Steve Taylor ● 7d

Ealing Council did the same thing to some poor woman in South Ealing a few years ago. Yes, there are bins but they're surely not suitable for liquid.

Susan Kelly ● 7d

On the face of it from the information provided here,it is another ridiculous overreach of power from a pedantic mind set.I would not pay and have my day in court.

Keith Iddon ● 7d

Yes, Richmond Council doesn’t tolerate litter, filth, flytipping and anti social behaviour. It’s an extremely well run council.  Unlike Hounslow which has third world values. I am surprised though that they took such action for coffee in a gutter given that it will be washed down a drain to mix in with all the sewage dumped by Thames Water. However most bus stops in Richmond have litter bins right next to them so the lady could have dumped her cup of coffee in the appropriate place.

Steve Taylor ● 7d

Chiswick stall holders better watch out does that means water as well ??

John Kennedy ● 7d

"Footage confirms the officers acted professionally and were sensitive to the circumstances," so that's ok then. She's kucky she wasn't tasered.

James Roy ● 7d