Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council

People in Rotherham are being asked to help identify suspected fly-tippers as part of a council crackdown on rubbish being dumped in the area.

Rotherham CouncilCopyright: Rotherham Council

As part of its #GetRidReyt campaign, Rotherham Council has released CCTV footage of people tipping rubbish.

The footage on the council’s website shows one man dumping old cannabis plants in Whiston while another shows two men throwing a number of bags from a white van in Munsborough.

A third video is of two men tipping rubbish in a lay-by in Hoober from an unregistered van, before returning to a different lay-by half an hour later to dump more waste.

Rotherham CouncilCopyright: Rotherham Council

Councillor Emma Hoddinott, Rotherham Council’s cabinet member for community safety, said: “We want to make sure people know that if they fly-tip in Rotherham they will get caught and they will get fined.

“The videos being released have been investigated by our officers, but they’ve hit a dead end with their inquiries.

"That’s why we want residents to help us and see if they can identify those responsible for tipping their waste at different sites across the borough.”

Anyone who recognises any of the individuals dumping rubbish in the videos is being asked to get in touch with Rotherham Council.

Almost 7,000 laptops are ready to be given to youngsters in South Yorkshire after a campaign by councils, schools and charities.

RMBCCopyright: RMBC

Sheffield charity Laptops for Kids said it now has enough child-friendly Dell laptops to supply most of the region and the computers will be used for pupils needing to access remote learning during the coronavirus pandemic.

The charity launched in Sheffield in September 2020 because many households were unable to take part in online lessons. The project has now expanded to other northern towns and cities.

The devices will now be distributed to schools by councils in Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield, with the schools themselves then sharing the laptops with households in need.

Many schools opened again to pupils on Monday, but leaders have warned people need to be prepared for more disruption to education in the coming months.

David Richards, the technology entrepreneur who co-founded the campaign, said: “Children must be able to safely access technology at home so they can keep up with their education and develop digital skills for the future.

“We applaud local government leaders in South Yorkshire for stepping up to meet the need and invest in the next generation of successful young people.”

Rotherham councillor Gordon Watson (pictured above, with David Naisbit of Oakwood High School) said: “We are delighted once again to be teaming up with Laptops for Kids to distribute a further 500 laptops to children in Rotherham, bringing the total number of children supported who would not otherwise have had access to online learning to more than 2,000."

Bin collections in some parts of Yorkshire are being affected by heavy snow across the region.

BBCCopyright: BBC

Rotherham Council, writing on social media, says: "There's going to be a bit of disruption today, due to the road conditions.

"If your bin doesn't get emptied please leave it at the kerbside and the bin crews will get to you as soon as they can."

Meanwhile Kirklees Council tweeted; "Due to the severe weather, we will struggle to collect some bins today."

The government's decision to keep South Yorkshire in tier three - very high alert - coronavirus restrictions is the "right" one, the leader of Rotherham Council has said.

Reuters/Hannah McKayCopyright: Reuters/Hannah McKay

It was confirmed earlier that the whole of South Yorkshire would remain in tier three following a review on Wednesday.

Labour councillor Chris Read, leader of Rotherham Council, said the town's Covid-19 infection rate was rising "alarmingly".

"The hospital is still very busy, certainly a couple of days ago they still had 120-some Covid in-patients, the peak earlier in the year was was in the low 70s," he said.

"I think probably at this point in time, it’s right for the government to exercise caution and to maintain restrictions in Rotherham."

Mr Read added that he though the government had "gone a bit too far" in relaxing restrictions for a five-day period over Christmas.