Horsham man’s anger after litter ‘strewn all over the place’ by Openreach engineers

Ben Dolley, 41, said cable off-cuts and other electrical waste were dropped by Openreach engineers working on junction boxes in Rushams Road.

He added: “About a year ago I started noticing it. They just leave it strewn all over the place.

“I pick it all up and then a couple of days later it would all be back again – hundreds of bits all the time.”

In a bid to tackle the problem Ben erected a sign urging the engineers to clear up after themselves.

The sign read: “Hello Openreach engineer or contractor. It would be great if you could stop littering Horsham with your bright bits of wire you just leave behind.

“So just a thought, be better, pick them up and dispose of them properly. Thank you.”

Ben, who urged the engineers to ‘pay a bit of respect’ to their surroundings, said he had spoken to an area manager for Openreach who had worked to get the mess cleared up.

But he said the manager had since changed roles at the company and the problems had restarted.

Ben said he is ‘annoyed and angry’ because the mess would take ‘ten seconds’ to clear up.

He added: “In the grand scheme of things there’s a lot more to worry about but it’s disrespectful to the community and they shouldn’t be doing it. It’s harmful to wildlife.”

A spokesperson for Openreach said: “We’re really grateful this has been brought to our attention and we’re issuing a reminder to engineers who work in this area.

“We take our responsibilities seriously and we know that leaving our working areas clean and tidy is the right thing to do, both for the environment and also to keep the public and our colleagues safe.

“The reminder sits alongside a much bigger programme of work already underway throughout Openreach, including regional waste action days, internal awareness campaigns and targeted local programmes to reduce waste around street cabinets in problem areas.”