Police and other authorities launched a targeted operation on the Isle of Sheppey last Friday, cracking down on illegal waste and scrap metal removal. The effort resulted in the seizure of unsafe vehicles and fines for multiple drivers, as part of a wider push to combat rural crime.
The multi-agency task force, which included officers from the Rural Task Force, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), and Swale Borough Council, focused their enforcement efforts in Sheerness. One of the most significant stops involved a white Ford flatbed Transit on Warden Road. Authorities seized the vehicle after deeming it unroadworthy due to a cracked chassis, broken lights, and an unsecured, overweight load. The driver was fined and issued a prohibition notice, barring the vehicle from the road.
In a separate incident on Cromwell Road, a Ford Transit Tipper was immobilized and its driver was fined for carrying excess weight and displaying an illegal number plate. Another Ford Transit Tipper was stopped on Brielle Way. The driver received a traffic offence report and was prohibited from driving the truck due to two bald tyres and a smashed windscreen.
Sergeant Darren Walshaw from Kent Police’s Rural Task Force said: ‘As part of our work to tackle rural crime – which can have a significant and negative impact on the businesses within, residents of, and visitors to, our countryside communities – we complete regular checks on vehicles carrying waste. Often, the illegal transportation of waste and scrap metal can be linked to other forms of criminality, including fly tipping. We work regularly with councils and other partner agencies to target those who operate illegally and the enforcement will continue, as we target those involved in the criminal disposal of residential and construction waste across our county.’