Burcu Yesilyurt says she had "no clue" it was illegal to dispose of liquid in a road gully

A woman says she was "shocked" when she was fined £150 for tipping the remnants of her coffee down a road gully in west London.

Burcu Yesilyurt, who lives in Kew, said she thought she was acting "responsibly" when she poured out a small amount of coffee from her reusable cup down the drain rather than risk spilling it on the bus she was about to catch to work.

But to her surprise, she was then stopped by three enforcement officers at the bus stop near Richmond station and fined under Section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

Richmond-upon-Thames Council said its officers "acted professionally and objectively" and that the fine was issued in line with its policies.

Ms Yesilyurt said: "I noticed my bus was approaching, so I just poured the leftover bit. It wasn't much, it was just a tiny little bit. As soon as I turned around, I noticed three men, enforcement officers, chasing me, and they stopped me immediately."

Ms Yesilyurt said she thought they were going to speak with her about an issue with the bus when she was stopped on 10 October, and had "no clue" pouring liquid into a road gully was illegal. "It was quite a shock," she said.

Ms Yesilyurt said she had asked the enforcements officers if there were any signs or information warning people of the law but received no response.

Section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 makes it an offence to deposit or dispose of waste in a way likely to pollute land or water, including pouring liquids into street drains.

Ms Yesilyurt was fined £150 which can be reduced to £100 if paid within 14 days. She said the encounter with the officers was "quite intimidating" and she was left feeling "shaky" as she went into work.

A Richmond Council spokesperson said that body-worn camera footage had been reviewed and they did "not agree that officers behaved aggressively".

"Footage confirms the officers acted professionally and were sensitive to the circumstances," they added.

Ms Yesilyurt said when she asked the officers what she was supposed to have done with the remaining coffee, she was told to pour it in a nearby bin. She said she had been trying to act responsibly and avoid littering. "It feels quite unfair. I think the fine is extreme. It's not proportionate," she added.

Ms Yesilyurt has called for the law to be made clearer with signs near bins and bus stops. She has yet to pay the fine and has issued a complaint with the council.

The Richmond Council spokesperson said: "Nobody likes receiving a fine, and we always aim to apply our policies fairly and with understanding. We are committed to protecting Richmond's waterways and keeping our borough's streets clean and safe. Enforcement action is only taken when necessary, and residents who feel a fine has been issued incorrectly can request a review."

In which Grahame suggested "Or perhaps with reduced commuting - people in the office just 2 to 4 days a week - not so much 'width' of service will be needed". 

After several years of Working from Home being fashionable, the trend now seems to have turned, with most employers wanting their staff back in the office most of the time.

Wednesday - Trondheim. I took almost the same photo in April.

The leaders of a railway trade union spent thousands of pounds of members’ money at a Las Vegas casino during an all-expenses-paid trip, according to a leaked dossier seen by The Telegraph.

Senior officials at the Transport Salaried Staff Association (TSSA) – including Manuel Cortes, the general secretary at the time – racked up £8,500 in expenses claims during a visit to the US city in 2022.

Bills claimed back on expenses in Vegas and on other trips during Mr Cortes’s tenure included four-figure casino and hotel invoices, dinners at restaurants offering roast suckling pigs big enough to feed six people, and transatlantic flights in business class.

Mr Cortes also withdrew hundreds of dollars in cash ahead of the Vegas trip, paid for by the union.

Revelations about the level of expenses-linked spending by TSSA’s bosses and wider apparent financial mismanagement will raise questions about how the union was run during Mr Cortes’s time as general secretary.

TSSA has more than 17,000 members working in the “administrative, managerial and professional” sectors of Britain’s rail companies. Each pays up to £25 a month for membership. In return, they receive the backing of TSSA in disputes with their employers and access to legal support.

The disclosures will also raise fears that instead of TSSA’s money being spent on looking after members, it is being diverted for the personal enjoyment of those at the top of the union.

Forensic accountants traced all spending by senior TSSA officials after five of the union’s senior managers were suspended in 2023 over allegations of bullying and sexual harassment.

They discovered that between 2017 and 2022, Mr Cortes claimed a total of £75,000 in expenses and spending on his union credit card. Over the same period, his TSSA wages totalled more than £550,000, plus a further £115,000 in pension contributions.

During 2022, the Labour-affiliated union oversaw Britain’s largest rail strikes in three decades, with 20 days of industrial action that caused misery for tens of millions of passengers.

Steve Coe, a former TSSA assistant general secretary who retired in 2022, called on Mr Cortes to repay any wrongfully claimed expenses. He said: “This is members’ money and they expect their money to be spent on their interests, not feathering the nests of senior officials within TSSA.”

A copy of the accountant’s report into the TSSA’s finances, dated July 2023 and comprising hundreds of pages of detailed expenses claims, credit card statements, invoices and contracts, has been seen by The Telegraph. This is what the investigation found.

... continues with details ...

Eurostar has revealed plans to run double-decker trains through the Channel Tunnel for the first time.

The cross-Channel rail operator has confirmed it will order up to 50 trains from manufacturer Alstom, eventually increasing the size of its fleet by nearly a third.

The expansion plans would include investing heavily in a crucial London depot, it said.

But questions remain over whether the facility has enough space for both Eurostar and potential rival operators to use it.

In the €2bn (£1.74bn) deal, confirmed on Wednesday, Eurostar has ordered 30 "Celestia" trains, with the option for 20 more.

Eurostar expects to start using the first six trains in 2031.

Each train would be 200m long. If two were run together, as happens currently, the resulting 400m service would have about 1,080 seats.

These would be the first double-decker high-speed trains to run through the Channel Tunnel.

The only other double-decker to ever appear on Britain's railways was an experiment that began in 1949.

All braking systems need to be reviewed to see if they can stop the carriages if the cable fails - which had not been the case in the Glória accident - the report advised.

It also recommended closing a loophole whereby Lisbon's historic funiculars are exempt from legal and supervisory oversight that applies to other cable-driven forms of transport.

TravelWatch SouthWest, General Meeting.  The consideration is for it being on a Saturday ... possibility of the day before, discussion to be at next TWSW board.

https://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=25693.msg316659#msg316659

In which Grahame suggested "Or perhaps with reduced commuting - people in the office just 2 to 4 days a week - not so much 'width' of service will be needed". 

After several years of Working from Home being fashionable, the trend now seems to have turned, with most employers wanting their staff back in the office most of the time.

It's possibly that old adage "you wouldn't build it here" if you were starting anew.

Yeah ...   https://www.facebook.com/watch?v=674750311993073

Powderham Castle near Exeter. In theory 06:32 train from Melksham, but it was cancelled so I caught bus to Bath. Train from Bath to Bristol, Bristol to Exeter, Exeter to Dawlish, then bus from Dawlish to Powderham Castle

I can understand both "sides" of this ... it sounds depressingly familiar.  It feels like madness but yet when you talk to the bus companies, you can understand why - at least we can / could locally where we have a similar situation.  That's a bus stop at the station, but it's only used for rail replacement services.  Service buses pass by 150 metres away at the top of Station Approach, though it is 450 metres to the nearest stop (271/2/3) and 550 metres to the stop on the x34. And it's about 650 metres to the Town Bridge.

Thanks for your post, broadgage - and I'm sorry to learn that you have suffered some medical issues.

May we wish you all the best for a full recovery.

CfN.

Now, does Finn need a ticket and will he be issued a badge/lanyard?
(Just kidding!)
He'll gladly accompany me on Friday. He likes people, and free buffets!

Wednesday: the directional markings indicated in white paint on the roads between the tracks suggest somewhere that drives on the right: so it's not in  the British Isles.

I have asked the question. Some of you may remember me bringing Teasel to events at other venues in Taunton.
ANSWER:   Permission for your dog is granted.  Happy hounds and humans

Construction of a new £60m railway bridge set to go over the M6 has been completed.

The bridge, which is 130m (426ft) tall and weighs around 3,000 tonnes, will replace the old Clifton bridge which crosses the M6 near Penrith in Cumbria and carries trains travelling on the West Coast Main Line.

Network Rail said the old bridge would be removed and the new one installed in the new year, leading to motorway and railway closures.

William Brandon, Network Rail's project manager, said the bridge would improve the "safety and reliability" of the line for passengers and reduce train delays. "We are working with National Highways to reduce any disruption caused by this vital upgrade," he said.

No trains will run on the West Coast Main Line from Oxenholme to Carlisle between 31 December and 15 January 2026.



Chris Liptrot, operations director at Avanti West Coast, said services between the North West, Carlisle and Scotland would be amended during this time. He said passengers should plan ahead and check the National Rail website before travelling.

The M6 will also be shut on two consecutive weekends - 2 to 5 January and 9 to 12 January - in both directions between junctions 39 at Shap and 40 near Penrith. Diversions will be in place, with routes to be released closer to the time.

I have asked the question. Some of you may remember me bringing Teasel to events at other venues in Taunton.


ANSWER:   Permission for your dog is granted.  Happy hounds and humans

Still struggling with Sunday.