17/09/2026
One of the Village Hall trustees has been in touch with the Parish Clerk and has been advised that a resolution will be put in place between those collecting rubbish and Street Scene regarding the correct procedure for the collection of items such as this. This should ensure that, in future, items are collected appropriately and are not left on Village Hall property, potentially leaving the charity responsible for arranging and paying for their disposal. So we have removed the photo after being asked to do so.
When the gas bottle was initially discovered next to the bin on Village Hall property, it was assumed that it had been fly-tipped. Unfortunately, we have previously had other items left there which the Village Hall has had to arrange and pay to dispose of.
Once the person who had left the bottle was identified, it became clear that this was not the intention and that it had been left in good faith with the expectation that it would be collected. A trustee contacted the person’s employer to clarify the situation, and a collection sticker was subsequently placed on the bottle at approximately 10am. Had the bottle been labelled when it was initially left, its purpose and intended collection would have been clearer.
However, a gas bottle is a different matter from the other items that have previously been left at the Hall. The trustees did not know whether it still contained gas, and it had been left unattended next to a bin on Village Hall property, close to the school and in an area regularly passed by children and other members of the public. At the time it was discovered, there was also no indication of when it would be collected.
A Village Hall trustee subsequently took the bottle to the recycling centre at Witchford, where it was placed in a locked cage. Given the nature of the item, taking it directly to an appropriate facility in the first instance would have avoided any uncertainty and would have been the safer option.
We appreciate the work carried out by people within the village and fully accept that there was no ill intent in this instance. Our concern is simply one of safety and ensuring that gas bottles or other potentially hazardous items are not left unattended on Village Hall property in future.
We hope this explains both the trustees’ initial concern and the action subsequently taken, and we are pleased that a clearer procedure will now be put in place to prevent a similar situation arising again.
