Cadent picks up bill as vandal trashes vehicles moved for A50 …
Neighbours plagued by nightmare A50 roadworks have now had their vehicles vandalised. They had been asked to park at Blythe Bridge Village Hall to keep their vehicles off Uttoxeter Road.
But they returned to their vehicles one morning to find them vandalised. The trail of destruction included smashed windows and broken windscreen wipers.
Primary school teacher Katy Ernest, aged 26, said: “These people don’t care about others. They’ve done this without a care in the world, wondering what they can do next.
“There was no flash of consciousness like a normal person would have. It feels really sad to know people were doing it for no gain. They took nothing, they just did it for fun.”
READ: Sleepless nights and shaking houses: Life in Blythe Bridge as A50 roadworks brings village to a standstill[1]
It is estimated that up to 12 vehicles had been parked on the car park when the vandal struck. Katy’s car was smashed up, her mum’s car had a windscreen wiper ripped off and washing up liquid squirted over it, and a fire extinguisher was let off inside a pick-up truck.
Katy’s car window was smashed (Image: Ernest)
Now utility giant Cadent – which is carrying out the roadworks – is footing the bill for the damage and has brought in 24-hour security. It comes as traffic continues to be diverted along Uttoxeter Road due to the A50 closure.
Katy added: “Somebody should have done everything in their power to minimise that risk – and that didn’t happen. I don’t think they thought it through. They thought, moving the cars solves our problem so that’ll be fine, without thinking of any of the implications.
“There’s nothing I can do now and I’ve resigned myself to that fact. It’s more that it shouldn’t have happened in the first place. It’s just a case of feeling let down.
“Luckily, my mum and I are both young and we can deal with these things. But if it happened to some of the neighbours who are older then it could really have been much worse. I just hope it doesn’t happen to anybody else. Hopefully, the people who have done it will start to feel guilty and come forward.”
Her mum’s car had a windscreen wiper ripped off and washing up liquid squirted onto it (Image: Ernest)
Cadent is replacing the existing A50 gas pipes with more durable plastic ones during the £500,000 roadworks.
A Cadent spokesman said: “We have been made aware of an unfortunate incident of vandalism in the car park we have provided during works on the nearby A50. We have arranged for 24-hour security to be placed on-site to prevent this happening again. Once again we would like to thank residents for their patience during these vital works.”
Staffordshire Police have been called in following the vandal attack. The vandalism was reported between 10pm on July 4 and 9am the following morning.
A police spokesman said: “We have received reports of a number of vehicles being damaged on Uttoxeter Road, Blythe Bridge. The windows of a grey Vauxhall Corsa were damaged and a windscreen wiper was taken from a white Mini Cooper. Damage was also caused to a yellow Renault truck, a yellow Iveco lorry, and a white DAF truck. We are reviewing CCTV of the area at the time of the damage caused.”
Any witnesses should call the police on 101, quoting incident number 144 of 5 July, or call Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.
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References
- ^ Sleepless nights and shaking houses: Life in Blythe Bridge as A50 roadworks brings village to a standstill (www.stokesentinel.co.uk)
- ^ or click here (www.stokesentinel.co.uk)