Street cleaners find seven-foot toy snake, dead animals and more

When cleaning the streets of Lincolnshire the last thing you expect to find is rotting reptiles, blow up dolls or fluffy toys, but North East Lincolnshire Council did just that.

The council’s street cleansing team worked hard to clear the streets in 2018, working 362 days a year in all weathers to keep the borough clean and green.

While emptying litter bins, sweeping roads, cleaning up dog mess and fly-tips, shocking discoveries were made.

Weird finds

A lizard missing its head was found dumped in the rubbish in Grimsby. Photo: North East Lincolnshire Council

A metre-long dead reptile missing its head was found dumped in a mountain of tyres and other fly-tipped rubbish in Grimsby.

Sid the snake. Photo: North East Lincolnshire Council

A seven-foot long cuddly toy snake named Hissing Sid was fished from the River Freshney. It wasn’t the only toy found by the team as a blow-up doll was also discovered by the team in 2018.

Dead chickens were found dumped in Grimsby. Photo: North East Lincolnshire Council

200 dead baby chickens were found dumped on Second Avenue in Grimsby in what the council described as a “stinking mess”.

The team also discovered a decomposing cat in the River Freshney earlier this year. While fishing out rubbish from the river and litter picking on the banks, the team also found no end of shopping trolleys, bikes, toys and dead pets.

Vape chemicals found by the street cleansing team. Photo: North East Lincolnshire Council

Mountain of tyres found on Moody Lane in Grimsby. Photo: North East Lincolnshire Council

Barrels of oil and vape chemicals, as well as mountains of tyres, were found by the council’s street cleansing team.

Other discoveries included an old caravan full of cardboard and asbestos, a complete kitchen and 95 dead pheasants.

Hundreds of bins emptied

The team empties hundreds of litter bins across the borough, while £100 fines for litter and dog fouling have been introduced.

Emergency work is also carried out when there is extreme weather, spillages and emergency service requests such as fly-tipping that could cause a threat of arson.

Revolting mess

Portfolio holder for environment, Councillor Matthew Patrick, said: “The top ten is just a snapshot of the revolting mess our street cleansing team is faced with on a daily basis.

“The mess they have to clear away at times is shocking. You would not believe some of the filthy, disgusting mess they are faced with.

“A lot of it is fly-tipped by criminal gangs and rogue traders with no respect for the law or the environment. It could be avoided if people disposed of their waste correctly.

“We ask the community to help by taking care of the places that are important to them so everyone can benefit from a clean, well-cared-for environment.”

Chairman of the overview and scrutiny committee, Councillor Steve Beasant, said the team sweep 2,400 streets annually, as well as carrying out beach cleans 26 weeks of the year.

He added that in December 2018 alone the team collected 395,820kg of litter from the streets and bring to sites.