“There is nothing new except what has been forgotten” – Marie Antoinette
There say that there is nothing new on earth and this newspaper report from March 1895 shows that fly-tipping has long been a problem.
The Birmingham Daily post reported that Castle Bromwich resident Edward Seabourne was one of two men fined for depositing rubbish in Newtown Road in contravention of the byelaws.
Edward was employed by the Birmingham Corporation and had been tasked with demolishing some buildings as part of an Improvement Scheme. They deposited three tons of rubbish in the road and left it there for about four hours.
Edward defended his actions saying that the man responsible for bringing a cart and removing the rubbish had not put in an appearance. His defence was dismissed and he was fined 2s – 6d plus costs.
