Gully cover criminals strike again
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Walsall Council’s highways bosses are extremely concerned at recent thefts of gully drain covers. Between Friday 31 March and Tuesday 11 April, the council is aware that 45 have been stolen.
Walsall Council’s highways bosses are extremely concerned at recent thefts of gully drain covers — the drains at the side of the road next to the kerb which feed rainwater into the public sewers.
Between Friday 31 March and Tuesday 11 April, the council is aware that 45 have been stolen. Areas being targeted are mainly in Brownhills, Walsall Wood, Aldridge and Shelfield, although a small number have also been stolen in the Willenhall area.
Roadside drains can be more than a metre deep and present a potential risk to the safety of road users and pedestrians, particularly at night when missing covers are not so easily visible.
“ We have over 37,000 gully covers across the borough, of varying ages, designs and sizes. This means there isn’t a handy stockpile of covers which can be quickly fitted, so we have to make two visits to each drain, the first to make safe with a temporary plastic cover and then again to install the permanent replacement.
We don’t just replace like for like though. The new covers we fit are much more robust and cannot be lifted out of the frame. We are also stipulating the use of such covers in new highway developments. “
Walsall Council asks that residents report any missing gully covers by calling 01922 650000. This number can be used for out of hours reports such as evenings, bank holidays and weekends. For emergencies such as this, the council provides a fast response service 24/7 365 days of the year and a crew will normally be out within the hour to make the danger safe.
“ Colleagues in our community protection team will be contacting local metal recyclers to remind them that they should not be accepting stolen highway gully gratings or making cash payments as everything should be traceable by bank transfer. “
