GULLY covers have been ‘stolen’ from city drains during a storm, creating a potential danger – and in total 10 have so far been reported missing.
Cllr Andrew Cross, a city and county councillor, has reported the missing roadside gully covers in Vetch Field Avenue in Warndon Villages in Worcester but his concern is that others may have been stolen.
A spokesperson for Worcestershire County Council said: “We have received reports of around 10 missing covers in the Warndon area.
“All have been made safe by our teams and orders have been placed to replace the covers.”
The missing drain covers came to Cllr Cross’s attention as the county was battered by Storm Darragh which prompted a yellow warning in Worcestershire for high winds as several trees were blown down, blocking roads.
However, because West Mercia Police have no CCTV evidence to show the suspected thefts in progress, the investigation has already been closed until more lines of enquiry become available.
The missing covers add to the hangover for those tasked with clearing up in the wake of the storm which has already caused train cancellations and power cuts and forced various events, including markets in Worcester, to be cancelled for safety reasons.
A yellow weather warning for wind was in place across the city for most of the weekend with winds reaching around 60mph.
Worcestershire County Council’s highways team were called to around 150 incidents on Saturday alone as fallen trees closed major roads including Bromsgrove Road in Droitwich and Barbourne Road in Worcester.
Cllr Cross said: “As this is a safety issue, I also called the out-of-hours emergency team who will temporarily make them safe tonight [Sunday].
“The team advised that several gully covers have been stolen around Worcester this weekend.
“This is dangerous for road users and extra work for the already-stretched highways team during a named storm.”
Cllr Cross, who represents Warndon Parish for the county council and Leopard Hill for the city council on behalf of the Green Party, said he had reported the missing covers to both Worcestershire County Council and West Mercia Police.
However, he asked others who see missing covers to report them online by visiting the Worcestershire County Council website and to let their nearest county councillor know about it too.
Cllr Cross said: “If anyone saw any gully covers being stolen over the weekend, please let me know. I am very keen to have any identifying evidence, or timings of when they were taken. Please don’t post evidence on social media, but email to across1@worcestershire.gov.uk.”
A spokesperson for West Mercia Police said: “We received a report yesterday (December 8) of the theft of two gully covers on Vetch Field Avenue in Worcester.
“Due to no suspect identified or CCTV available, the investigation has been closed pending further investigative opportunities becoming available.”
(Worcester News 10/12/2024)