Angry People in Local Newspapers

by Alistair Coleman

  A butcher has received a police warning over his risqué blackboard messages – after advertising ‘big breasted birds’, ‘big cocks’ and ‘horny sausages’.

  He has been told by officers to tone down his slogans following complaints about them being ‘offensive’.

  He has criticised the decision as ‘political correctness gone mad’ after using his sign to attract customers for years.

  Pete, from Leek, said: ‘We’ve put the sign out for years and it’s always been a bit of a laugh.

  ‘Just after Christmas apparently somebody complained to the police, saying it was offensive. Last month a lady from the police came in and asked if we could pull our sign in. And a bobby came in last Thursday. They’re just doing their job so I’m not annoyed with the individuals.’

  The sign on display at the time said ‘big cocks on special offer’.

  Pete added: ‘We did bring them in but then folks kept moaning, asking, ‘Why isn’t your sign out?’

  The blackboard was swiftly changed to say ‘have your rump tenderised before you leave’.

  ‘It’s a sign, and it’s light humour at the end of the day. People do go past beeping their horns at the messages,’ he said.

  ‘I think it’s just blown out of proportion. I’m not trying to upset anybody, I’m not the kind of person who would write something genuinely horrible.

  ‘A former employee started it off with me. About four years ago some ladies posed with him next to the sign – they thought it was funny – and the picture appeared in Take a Break magazine. So I think times have changed a bit. I think political correctness is getting a bit out of hand.’

  Pete has even been overwhelmed with responses after he put an appeal on Facebook in January asking people to submit their own risqué sayings.

  ‘It wasn’t even mostly blokes sending them in, it was women!’ he said.

  political correctness is getting a bit out of hand

  The co-owner of the shop next door described the blackboard as ‘banter’. He said: ‘It’s a bit of fun and it does make me laugh sometimes. You see people going past taking pictures of it with their phones.

  ‘I’ve known Pete a long time and he has a good sense of humour. I don’t know why this has come out now, all of a sudden. More people seem to be offended nowadays or get upset about certain things. I have never thought that they are particularly offensive but you can’t please everybody.

  ‘I think it’s a bit much the police getting involved.’

  A lady pensioner, also from Leek, added: ‘That is just Pete’s sense of humour. I didn’t think anybody took that much notice.

  I’m not trying to upset anybody

  ‘I don’t know why somebody suddenly decided it wasn’t OK. I’ve never thought the signs were too much. It’s quite sad because that’s a part of his shop. He just does it to draw attention to the business. I wouldn’t have thought it was a police matter.’

  A Staffordshire Police spokesman said: ‘We’ve received no complaints about signage outside the butchers in Leek.

  ‘However, the local Chief Inspector for the Moorlands did advise the owner to give careful consideration to what was written on the boards in case anyone took offence. No other action has been taken.’

  Grandparents fear their young relatives may get ill if they encounter faeces while playing outside.

  Angry residents are demanding action on poo in an area they claim is the worst in Devon for dog fouling.

  Resident of the plagued road in Tiverton – which is close to popular dog walking sites such as the former railway line footpath and People’s Park – Mrs Parfett said: ‘Everybody in the road is very uptight about it. I have grandchildren, and you’re putting them at risk.

  ‘It’s one of the worst areas of town for it as we’re just outside of town near the footpath, cemetery and park.’

  Mrs Parfett, a dog owner herself, and her husband have been sent diaries by Mid Devon District Council in which they record when and where dog fouling occurs.

  ‘As the weekend goes on there are loads,’ she said, ‘then you come to Monday, Tuesday and through the week there are not so many faeces there, but it seems to be on the weekends it’s taking place with lots of people offending.

  ‘I know lots of dog owners and lots that pick it up, but it’s hard to catch people when they leave it.’

  “it’s hard to catch people when they leave it”

  She said Mid Devon District Council could do more to help.

  ‘All Mid Devon have done is send me a diary to write down when and where the problem is occurring.

  ‘I’d like to see Mid Devon do more; they need more notices, prohibition, fines, and a sit down to think about the whole thing and think it through.

  ‘I came home from taking my dog out, and my husband said that everybody up the road has been walking past complaining about the dog faeces, but they don’t want to get involved. I’ve given them all a diary, so hopefully, they will send those to Mid Devon.’

  Mrs Parfett said the problem would only get worse as the spring and summer weather approaches.

  She added: ‘As summer comes I think it will get worse. When I was working I finished late, and I had to have a torch to walk up Brickhouse Hill in case there were any faeces on there, and sometimes there are great piles of it; it is a bit grim.

  “sometimes there are great piles of it”

  ‘You can get horrible diseases and there are loads of them. There is a nasty one which can cause blindness in children.

  ‘I have two small grandchildren, and it’s a worry. They bring their bikes in if they’ve been riding up and down and quite often we have to pressure wash the tyres. Children in a pushchair might accidentally ingest dog poo, but nobody seems to want to do anything about it.

  ‘We are living in a community area here, and they’re putting people at risk. Not just children, it’s everybody.’

  Mid Devon District Council has been approached for comment.

  Ms Mullan also called on her local football club, which recently underwent redevelopment, to remove a high wooden fence it erected along the back of homes and replace it with safety netting.

  The popular west Belfast club put up high fencing last year following a major redevelopment which included installing a new 3G pitch and terracing.

  However, residents hit out at the plans and said the fencing would ruin their picturesque views across the city and the Mourne Mountains and called for wire mesh to be put up instead.

  Ms Mullan, who lives with her mother and nephews, said living at their home had become a ‘nightmare’.

  Describing the fence as an ‘eyesore’ she said residents could see ‘nothing’ from the back of their houses.

  The problem, she said, had been exacerbated by a growing number of hurling balls and footballs coming over the fence into the back of her home.

  ‘It’s a nightmare, you are jumping out of your skin when you are making food in your kitchen,’ she said.

  you are jumping out of your skin when you are making food in your kitchen

  ‘You think it’s a bomb going off, that’s how loud it is.

  You think it’s a bomb going off

  ‘My mother often has her grandchildren visiting but when they come down she can’t let them out. When we are in the kitchen at night, we are going into heart failure. Does somebody need to take a heart attack before this is sorted out?’

  The west Belfast woman said the problem would be sorted if the club removed the fence and replaced it with netting.

  ‘We want the fencing down because it is blocking our whole view,’ she said.

  ‘It’s a terrible eyesore.’

  In a statement, the club said it was willing to meet with residents to discuss any concerns.

  ‘At all times the venue has acted in accordance with all aspects of planning legislation and guidance,’ it said.

  ‘As a community based club, we are always willing to discuss the concerns of local residents on t
he basis of making the area a better place for all.’

  A funeral car broke rank mid-procession and sped off towards its passenger’s house – where a squirrel had started a fire.

  Former Havering councillor and friend of the deceased, Mr Tebbutt was in the final car of a funeral procession in Brentwood Road on the afternoon of Friday, March 8, when he received an unwelcome phone call.

  ‘I had a fellow in my house putting a new bathroom in,’ he told The Recorder. ‘He had the window open and saw smoke coming out of the garage roof.

  ‘So he rang the fire brigade and then rang me.’

  Mr Tebbutt initially believed the caller was pulling his leg – but as it dawned on him the fire was no wind-up he realised he had to get home, funeral or no funeral.

  ‘I said to the driver: “I’m telling you, my house is on fire. Go left here.”

  ‘The driver said: “I can’t go left – I’m in a funeral.”

  ‘I said: “Never mind that. Turn left.” ’

  The driver did as he was bidden and chauffeured the former Tory councillor, along with a number of family members of the deceased, to his home in Romford – pausing while Mr Tebbutt negotiated his way through a road block set up so the fire brigade could run a hose across the street.

  He arrived to find three fire crews battling the flames, which ended up damaging fifty per cent of the garage and costing upwards of £20,000.

  But it wasn’t until a fire investigation team pinpointed the cause of the incident that the strangest aspect of the afternoon’s proceedings came to light – the fire had been started by a squirrel.

  It’s a battle between me and the squirrels

  A fire brigade spokesman said the mischievous rodent had chewed through the cable of a fluorescent light, sparking an electrical fire that quickly spread through the garage.

  ‘It’s nuts to think that squirrels can start fires, but that’s exactly what happened here,’ he admitted. ‘We think it was nesting in the garage and caused the blaze by chewing through some cables.’

  Self-proclaimed ‘animal lover’ Mr Tebbutt said he was nearing the end of his tether with the rodents.

  ‘I put nuts out for the birds but the squirrels keep eating them,’ he revealed. ‘Whatever contraption I put up, they seem to beat me. It’s a battle between me and the squirrels.

  ‘I put up with that but now they’ve set my house on fire I’ve decided I’m going to shoot them all.’

  I’ve decided I’m going to shoot them all

  Under UK law, it is legal to shoot grey squirrels but illegal to cause them unnecessary pain.

  The RSPCA website warns that ‘squirrels may suffer if the shooting is not accurate’.

  Jonathan has been told his balding head could be to blame for the winged assaults.

  A Pokémon Go fan is being forced to dodge an angry gull while trying to catch ’em all.

  Jonathan has spoken of regular attacks from the bird while trying to reach an area to play the popular geo-caching game Pokémon Go.

  And he has been told the swooping terror could be prompted to dive bomb by his balding head or his black tie.

  Keen gamer, Jonathan, has told Devon Live how he travels into Tiverton on the bus every morning for work.

  A big fan of the popular monster-collecting mobile game, recently hitting level forty, he has one hour to pack in as much Pokémon Go as possible before starting his shift.

  From the bus he will hurry to the first of two ‘Gyms’ on his commute, where he can battle and catch rare creatures.

  However, this week the normally relaxing pursuit has become a nightmare.

  He said: ‘The seagull appears to be nesting atop the church. Every time I enter through the gates to get to the graveyard it begins circling and I hear a lot of squawking. As I walk closer to the Pokémon Gym it comes down for my head. I am forced to duck behind trees when it happens.

  “it begins circling and I hear a lot of squawking”

  ‘My friend said that it could be attracted to my balding head, which adds insult to injury!’ he joked.

  ‘It has only recently begun to happen. The first time I thought nothing of it, as I was evidently too close to the walls of the church to be hit.

  ‘However, the past two days it has swooped at my head by going directly down the path.

  ‘Each time I have dodged it by moving behind a tree and then it appears to not bother once I pass to the other side of the church by the castle.

  ‘It clearly thinks I am in its territory.’

  “It clearly thinks I am in its territory”

  He has been told that no-one else seems to be having an issue with the gull, which is picking solely on the fan of a game in which animals are trapped inside small globes called Pokéballs.

  Jonathan has played the game since it was first launched in 2016, and is a member of Team Mystic.

  He admits that the close encounters of the bird kind aren’t putting him off playing the game, which includes a community of sixty to seventy players in the mid-Devon town.

  ‘It’s nice to get out and about and walk around with a purpose. It’s also great to meet up with people, and I have met a few close friends through the game.’

  A resident of a village near Pershore claims pet owners are not binning their dogs’ mess, but are leaving it all over the pavements.

  Mr Huxley, who has a young son, wants the village to be cleaned up – and even says he will move away if the problem persists.

  The Parish Council says it is ‘more than happy’ to discuss the matter with Mr Huxley, and added it has received just one complaint in the past year about dog mess.

  ‘It is bringing the village down,’ said Mr Huxley. ‘It is just a disgusting thing. The street has just got terrible. The last two years, it has got worse.

  It is bringing the village down

  ‘It’s everywhere, it’s in the alleyway, it is outside our house, by the school.

  ‘It is laziness, they do not bag it up – they just leave it everywhere. They do not care about the young kids falling on it. If it carries on I wouldn’t think about staying in the village. It is a shame. It is a nice village.’

  Mr Huxley says the matter has been reported to the parish council, and he also contacted Wychavon District Council.

  A spokesman for the parish council said a request for an extra dog waste bin on Brickyard Lane was submitted in July 2016, and the matter was discussed by councillors at a meeting in August.

  It was agreed the council would replace the damaged litter bin in Stonebow Road instead, as there is already a dog waste bin at the top of Brickyard Lane.

  The spokesman explained councillors recently agreed to consider providing a new dog waste bin, or re-siting a bin, in the middle of Shrubbery Road – as there is a long stretch of pavement with no bin. However, this is yet to be discussed at a full council meeting.

  Nikki Nicholson, parish clerk, said: ‘We are more than happy for the resident in question to approach us and discuss this matter further. We have contacts in the crime prevention team at Wychavon, as not picking up dog waste is a crime with a fine enforceable.

  It’s everywhere

  ‘We as a parish council want to respond and engage with the residents and respond as best we can within our budgetary constraints.

  ‘The public are invited to bring anything they want to raise to the monthly parish council meetings held at the village hall, or to contact me directly by phone or email to bring anything to our attention. All complaints or queries are investigated and responded to with openness and transparency.

  ‘A recent door knock survey did not identify dog waste as an issue, neither was it raised on the neighbourhood plan survey.’

  She is also being made to climb out of her back window after the door to her home of seventeen years was damaged and left unable to open.

  A woman faces having an entire housing estate built around her home after failing to reach an agreement with the developers who bought out the re
st of her neighbourhood.

  Miss Doyle has revealed how eighty of her neighbours have moved out, leaving her as the last remaining resident in her road – just like in the Disney film Up.

  But Miss Doyle will not be able to float away and says her ‘life has been made absolute hell’ by the housing trust who are knocking down houses and boarding up properties all around her home of seventeen years.

  She currently has to climb out of her back window after building work – which she says was carried out by Knowsley Housing Trust (KHT) – damaged her front door and lock.

  KHT said they reached agreement with the other residents and had made a range of offers to Miss Doyle without any being accepted, so the demolition work will go on around her ‘for the good of the wider community’.

  Building work for fifty new homes will begin in March after the demolition of 112 properties is completed.

  Miss Doyle says her dog Louis has to be picked up and let in and out through the ground floor flat window she now uses as a front door.

  The care assistant said: ‘My life has been absolute hell for the last two years after I found out they were going to knock these houses down. They didn’t tell me anything, they just boarded everything off and I’ve been treated like I was squatting.

  ‘They apparently put in planning permission to fence off my property and then began to knock down the rest of the flats.’

  Miss Doyle, who works nights and says it is impossible to sleep during the day, added workmen on the site told her they had seen plans for development at her home and had to ask KHT what she was doing still living there.

  She added: ‘I’ve been living on my own in this street for about six months now and I feel like I’m being bullied.’

  I feel like I’m being bullied

  Kelly says that KHT did offer her market value for her home but she isn’t able to take it.

  She said: ‘I was told to take the market value offer for my flat but I don’t want to. It is my life and I spent six or seven years getting my home the way I want it.