YOUTH unemployment has been a scar on the economy for far too long. It started rising during the boom, and has rocketed since recession took hold.

That this always happens during recessions, because firms hang on to older, more experienced staff, will be no consolation to young people looking for jobs now.

While there are plenty of initiatives which try to solve the underlying problems – among them the Post's campaign to create more apprenticeships – it is young people themselves who ultimately have to persuade employers they are worth taking on.

They could take a lead from David Day of Carlton, whose astonishing commitment we outline today.

He has done that not once but five times, holding down part-time jobs as diverse as retail with Primark and stewarding with Notts County at the same time.

His commitment to making his life better doesn't stop there. On top of all those paid jobs he also does a number of voluntary jobs too.

Some will say a life in part-time jobs is not a great advert for the state our economy is in. David, too, says the problem is a lack of jobs.

But he's chosen to take what's on offer rather than wait for something full time to turn up. When it does, that commitment will surely pay dividends.

NEARLY 7,000 runners are expected to flock to the start line when Nottingham's famous full marathon returns after a year's absence.

Around 2,000 are expected to don green tights in a tribute to Robin Hood.

Cheering the participants on through the city's and county's roads and parkland will be 200 "race makers", recruited and trained by race organisers Sweatshop.

The Ikano Robin Hood Marathon and Half Marathon are returning on Sunday, September 29, and organisers are hoping to make the event – first held in 1981 – a major race in the running calendar.

"The marathon is an integral part of the event, so it feels right to be bringing it back," said Nick Pearson, managing director of Sweatshop.

"We know it was disappointing for people who run it year in and year out.

"It was really frustrating we couldn't hold it last year, so it is satisfying to be able to bring it back – safer and more enjoyable – and we are confident it will grow in the future.

"The plan that we have – and the plan that the council has – is for this to grow into a national marathon within the racing calendar."

The full marathon was cancelled last year due to tram works and health and safety concerns about runners competing on busy, open roads.

This year 600 runners have already signed up for the marathon and nearly 5,000 are committed to the half marathon.

It is hoped a further 900 people will sign up for the full 26 miles when details of the route are released tomorrow after it was finalised by Sweatshop and Nottingham City Council yesterday.

Like the marathon in previous years, it is expected to start at Victoria Embankment and follow the route of the half marathon.

It will then continue through Colwick Park, towards Holme Pierrepont, where runners will do a much smaller loop of the water sports centre than in previous years.

Runners will continue along the river to the finish, which will be at the same place as the start at Victoria Embankment.

Any roads included will be closed to traffic.

"The half marathon is the fastest in the country, which offers runners of all abilities the chance to beat their personal best," said Mr Pearson.

"We've tried to maintain that with the full marathon and cut the route through the flatter areas of the city and the county.

"It's safer in the sense that it's an enclosed route, so it's largely on closed roads.

"Although marshalling people through open roads is fine, it does present challenges and it stopped being appropriate due to the number of people running the course.

"The other main change is that the marathon used to have a full loop of Holme Pierrepont.

"The feedback we were getting was that it was quite lonely and disconcerting – there were no landmarks to make it enjoyable, so we've tried to take that on board and make it so it's not as demoralising."

As well as the route being new, around 200 volunteers – or "race makers" – will also be recruited for the first time.

"Part of what we want to do is to add a more qualified element," said Mr Pearson.

"Volunteers will receive training and hopefully we can call on them year after year so that they become experts.

"We want people who are really proud of their role in the marathon.

"We hope we can define the roles a bit more and that people take ownership of them."

Finance firm Ikano will be sponsoring the event, with New Balance named as secondary sponsors.

For more details about entering this year's races visit www.robinhoodhalfmarathon.co.uk.

A GROUP of friends who grew up in the same area have set up an online group to reminisce about their childhoods.

The St Ann's friends share memories about living in the area before its redevelopment in the 1970's on a Facebook group.

The Facebook page has quickly amassed more than 170 members.

And the group are inviting other people to join in the reminiscing as they meet on Wednesday, July 3, at Stonebridge City Farm in Stonebridge Road from noon to 4pm.

Tony Miller, who now lives in Shelt Hill, Woodborough, founded the group.

He said: "I was born in St Ann's in 1941 and lived there until 1971 - when I moved out and life carried on and the area was redeveloped.

"I noticed continually the bad news about St Ann's - violence, drugs and murder. It was a forgotten area and there was nothing positive. I thought there must be a lot of people with the same very happy memories as I had.

"It was a vibrant area with lots of shops."

"My son said the best thing to do was set up a Facebook site to expose it to the world. Since then it's gradually grown over the 18 months and we have members scattered throughout the world - Australia, America, Canada and Italy.

"You'll be amazed how many people.

"It's about nostalgia and remembering your childhood. The stories you get are great. People share their happy memories."

"The whole area was knocked down - it was a crime."

He added: "We had a bingo hall and a dance hall - it was thriving - we grew up with rock and roll there and jiving. I remember listening to Bill Haley and Elvis."

Mavis Baker grew up in St Ann's well road and now lives in Western Australia, Perth.

She said: "What people don't appreciate today is the sense of community that there was."

Mrs Baker, who migrated in 1969 added: "The demolition hadn't really started, I had no concept of what was about to happen. I went back ten years later and everything had changed, everything had gone. The only thing that was left was the layout of the road."

Beryl Morris, 69, who now lives in Clifton is another member of the group and is helping to organise the meet up.

She said: "My husband grew up in St Ann's and I was there from 1959 to 1970. I'm on the committee for the reunion - it should be great, it's exciting.

"It's a very good idea to remember the past. It was a great place to live, it was very friendly and had good neighbours. It was a community, everybody was there for everybody. If you wanted anything you could ask a neighbour."

By the 19th century, Nottingham was populated mainly by lace and textile workers, who needed houses. St Ann's was an obvious location.

Factories, workshops and other industrial buildings were built alongside the houses so that workers did not have far to travel. By the end of the 19th century, the whole area was virtually filled with high-density housing to form a self-contained suburb with churches, chapels, schools, shops, banks, pubs and even a railway station on the Nottingham Suburban line.

Ten thousand houses were packed into St Ann's by 1890s and two-thirds of them had no hot water and three quarters no bath.

By the beginning of the 20th century, trams were running through St Ann's, later to give way to trolley buses. The 1920s and '30s saw the opening of cinemas and dance halls.

When the city council resumed slum clearance in the 1950s, St Ann's was not one of the first areas to be tackled.

In St Ann's, a much more radical approach was adopted, razing vast areas to the ground.

Compulsory purchase orders were introduced in 11 phases over a period of six years. The project involved the rehousing of 30,000 people and it was not possible for the uprooted to be rehoused in the St Ann's area. They were moved to other council estates throughout the city.

AMBULANCE crews in Notts are to stagger the times they have lunch breaks under new plans to improve response times.

A "rota review" will come into force on Monday July 1 across all ambulance stations in Notts, with some stations having made the changes already.

The review is part of the East Midlands Ambulance Service's (EMAS) "Being the Best" programme, which is reshaping the way the services runs, with the hope of speeding up response times – an area where the service has failed in the past.

Speaking at an inquest, EMAS control centre manager Alison Crowe said that the rota review would help the service as a whole react quicker.

She said: "It is one of the changes we have put in place to try and make sure we have the crews available at busy times."

EMAS has admitted that "currently there are not enough duty hours allocated to cover the high demand during the middle of the day".

Dr James Grey said co-ordinating when crews had their breaks would avoid a "narrow window" when cover was not at its strongest.

EMAS paramedic, Wayne Roland, said: "Only time will tell if this works. We have had the rota reviewed before, it's something that usually gets done when the service gets new blood in and wants new ideas."

All paramedics and frontline staff must have a 45-minute statutory lunch break by law.

The ambulance service is set a goal of responding to 95 per cent of the most serious and life-threatening calls within 19 minutes.

Figures for the end of year 2012-13 showed that the ambulance service reached 91.8 per cent in that time.

An EMAS spokesman said the rota review was about making sure there were sufficient crews available at peak times.

He said: "The rota review is mainly about matching resources to the changing patterns of 999 demand.

"The rest-break element will improve as a result of having more appropriate resource levels at the right time but this wasn't the main driver for the review.

"Also, this was one of the measures under our overall Being the Best change programme, which also dealt with issues such as the reconfiguration of our estates and management restructure.

"The additional staff we will be recruiting – as a result of extra funding we've secured this year – will also have a positive impact on our response times."

SOME 21-year-olds spend their Friday nights out on the town and the remainder of their spare time mastering their favourite video games.

But David Day, of Violet Road Carlton, is holding down five paid positions and a further six voluntary roles.

He lives in Gedling borough, which struggles with youth unemployment. The latest figures show 7.5 per cent of 18-24-year-olds in the borough claim Jobseeker's Allowance.

But David says the problem is not with the attitude of the youngsters but with the amount of jobs available.

Despite enjoying all of his jobs, David still has to deal with an erratic schedule.

He said: "I'm just moving from one job to the next, but I'm used to the way I organise my time. I would much rather be doing something useful than sitting in front of the TV."

David, who has been volunteering since he was ten years-old, wants more people his age to volunteer and thinks it can help people gain valuable skills and boost employability.

He said: "It's just nice to help people out. I would like to see more volunteers and show people how to get involved and how good it feels to help people and see how they react."

David said that some volunteers he has come across have even landed paid work off the back of their free labour.

Dave Thomas, volunteer co-ordinator at Gedling Community and Voluntary Services, echoes his thoughts.

He said: "Young people have always wanted to change the world, and now they seem to be realising that they can make a difference through volunteering."

George Cowcher, chief executive of the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce, said: "David's dedication and commitment to work shows that if you apply the right amount of passion, drive, initiative and entrepreneurial flair to whatever you want to do, you can achieve great things.

"Young people often get a bad press and there are stereotypes out there that are unhelpful and can put them at a disadvantage in the eyes of potential employers. But David just goes to show that there are some talented, driven and creative young people out there who would be an asset to any business."

His contribution is certainly appreciated in the voluntary groups he works with.

Leslie Rhodes, from Gedling Play Forum added: "David puts himself out for anyone. He works as much as he can for us, but we understand his other commitments. I remember when a trip for disabled kids were short of a first-aider, and without any notice David jumped on the bus."

Graham Atkin, president of Mapperley Park Badminton Club, coaches the junior sessions with David.

He said: "David's a great role model for our young players. I've seen people his age volunteer, but never to the extent that David does."

Councillor Liz Plant, vice chairman of the Children and Young People's Committee, at Nottinghamshire County Council said: "We have many examples in the county of young people achieving so much and hopefully David's story provides inspiration to all young people everywhere and provides extra encouragement and incentive."

THE SECOND most important man in the UK economy will make his debut public speech in Nottingham in August.

Canadian Mark Carney is taking over from Lord Mervyn King, pictured, as the Governor of the Bank of England, which controls how much money there is in the economy and the interest rates people are charged to borrow.

Mr Carney will be in Nottingham on Wednesday August 28, to give a speech at an event that has been organised by the Bank, the Derbyshire & Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce, the CBI in the East Midlands and the Institute of Directors.

He will talk to an invited audience of business owners, directors and senior managers from across Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire at the East Midlands Conference Centre, delivering an eagerly awaited assessment of the economy and also taking part in a question-and-answer session.

Since the credit crunch struck, the Bank of England's base rate - which banks and building societies base their interest rates on - has been at an all-time low of 0.5 per cent.

The Bank of England has also tried to stimulate activity by putting hundreds of billions of pounds of new money into the economy through a process known as quantitative easing.

One of the key questions Mr Carney is likely to face when he comes to Nottingham is when he thinks the Bank is likely to move away from these emergency measures.

Lord Mervyn King, current Governor of the Bank of England told MPs yesterday: "Until markets see in place policies to bring about that return to normal economic conditions, there is no prospect for sustainable recovery so it will not be sensible to return interest rates to normal levels."

A PETITION has been launched to try to scupper the opening of a new free school in the north of the city.

The Nottingham Free School is set to open in the Sherwood area in 15 months' time.

It will be run by the Torch Academy Gateway Trust, which is also behind Toot Hill School in Bingham.

Bosses say it will help ease a shortage of places.

But it has received extensive opposition, not least from teaching unions, schools and academies. Now the National Union of Teachers has launched an online petition.

Rob Illingworth, joint secretary of the south Notts branch, said: "[It] is wasting taxpayers' money in a time of austerity, building and funding a school that the area neither needs nor had requested.

"This school will also take the education of local children further outside the democratic control of local people."

The free school is provisionally scheduled for a September 2014 opening for Year 7 pupils. Initially it plans to accommodate 90 to 120 pupils in each year group, meaning there could be up to 600 in four years.

Potential locations haven't been revealed.

Free schools – championed by Education Secretary Mi chael Gove on the grounds of choice – are free from local authority control and funded direct from central Government.

To be discussed in Parliament, the petition needs 100,000 signatures. Colin Tucker, from the Nottingham Hands Off Our Schools group, which opposes free schools, said: "We do not even know in which area of Nottingham it will be located although we have heard rumours about Sherwood. It has little over a year to turn whatever premises they can find into a fully-functioning school.

"We believe for these reasons there is every chance that the school will not happen.

"There are a number of good schools in the area and no shortage of places so the Nottingham Free School is not really adding any dimension in terms of choice."

Father of two Pete Smith, 37, of Arnold, said: "I don't see the need for it."

But Jonathan Taylor, of the trust, said: "The Nottingham Free School has been given the go-ahead to open due to the overwhelming demand expressed by parents in the area. Over 250 parents signed up for the Nottingham Free School and the Torch Academy Gateway Trust is a recognised local provider of outstanding education provision.

"Currently, children leaving primary school in the Sherwood, Carrington, Mapperley Park and Woodthorpe areas have no natural local secondary school provision. The Nottingham Free School will allow children from local primary schools to attend a secondary school that is based in their community with their friends and classmates."

A CLIFTON mum-of-three who was jailed for life for the murder of an uninvited guest at a party has lost an appeal against her conviction.

Kerry Holden, 36, of Farnborough Road, Clifton, was sentenced in March last year following her conviction by a jury at Nottingham Crown Court for the murder of Luke Moran.

The 25-year-old, of Southchurch Court, Clifton, died after she stabbed him in the heart with a kitchen knife after an argument at a house party.

Mr Moran was sat defenceless on his bike in the front garden of the house when Holden attacked him, leaving a fatal 10cm chest injury.

Holden has always denied responsibility and yesterday took her case to the Court of Appeal, where three top judges took just ten minutes to reject her case.

Lord Justice Treacy, sitting in London with Mr Justice MacDuff and Mr Justice Dingemans, said the jury's verdict was "unarguable".

The court heard Mr Moran was one of several people who turned up, uninvited, to a party at a property in Eucalyptus Avenue, Barton Green.

He got into an argument with Holden, who stabbed him outside. He was found bleeding by the side of a road by other party-goers.

Appealing, Holden argued that, due to drugs she was prescribed in prison, she was not in a fit state to follow or answer questions in cross-examination at her trial.

But, giving judgment, Lord Justice Treacy said a doctor had looked into Holden's claims and had produced a report for the court to consider.

In it, the doctor said anti-depressant medication Holden had been on was unlikely to have harmed her ability to give the best evidence she could.

"On the basis of that report, there is no ground for any tenable argument that this appellant was so disadvantaged by the effects of her medication that she couldn't give evidence properly," said the judge.

"Nor is there any other material relating to the appellant's state of mind that could advance her case in the way sought in the grounds of appeal. Accordingly, there is no basis for taking this matter further. This application must fail and it is dismissed."

Holden must serve a minimum of 18 years behind bars before she will eligible to apply for release on licence.

TWO vans full of police in helmets and armour battered down doors in a block of flats in the city yesterday.

But these were raids with a difference – there was nothing inside the police wanted.

They were part of a training exercise to find the best way of battering down new doors that are set to be fitted to council homes across the city.

More than 30,000 new doors will be installed to Nottingham City Homes' properties over the next two years to replace the old wooden ones.

The new doors help homes stay warm and are also much more secure than the old models as they have reinforced frames and are thicker. They are made of reinforced uPVC.

But while they may be better at keeping the warm in and would-be burglars out, the police needed to suss out a quick way of getting in during a raid.

So, a team of officers took up battering rams and other tools and tested the best way to smash the new doors down at Digby Court, one of the blocks of flats off Derby Road, Lenton, which are due to be demolished.

Police Sergeant Gary Pestka said: "We have already attempted to break down a similar style of door during a raid and it took a number of attempts with an enforcer, which gave the suspects due warning we had arrived.

"From a security point of view, for the majority of law-abiding Nottingham City Homes' tenants, these doors are a fantastic addition to their homes.

"But we have to unfortunately, in certain circumstances, consider the need to get in to homes fitted with the new doors."

And after a few loud thuds and a few other tools being used against the doors, the officers found a relatively easy way of getting through the thick doors.

Nick Murphy, chief executive of Nottingham City Homes, said the plans to replace the doors was a result of feedback from tenants.

He said: "Tenants told us that having a secure and warm home was at the top of their list of priorities.

"We have listened to our tenants and in response we are rolling out our door replacement programme across the city."

The organisations recent Secure Warm Modern programme saw old windows replaced with brand new secure units. As a result there has been a 58 per cent drop in burglary to council properties across the city.

Mr Murphy added: "Our Secure Warm Modern programme has made huge strides in creating homes and places where people want to live, and making our estates safer for our tenants."

TWO men have been praised by a judge after they caught a thief who stole a purse from a student.

Nick Fry and Jason Leathen have been awarded £250 from public funds for protecting the victim and apprehending the thief.

They saw Mojtaba Baharlouisit down beside Zoe Harris as she ate a takeaway at a bus stop in Parliament Street, Nottingham, at 3am on November 17 last year.

He was "uncomfortably close" to her before he walked away, prosecutor David Allan told Nottingham Crown Court.

Mr Fry and Mr Leathen noticed Baharloui leaving with a brown purse in his hand and they asked the woman if she still had her purse.

She realised it had been taken by Baharloui, so the two men went after him and detained him in Market Street.

At court, Baharloui, an Iranian asylum seeker, of Clumber Road West, The Park, was found guilty of theft.

Judge Michael Stokes QC sentenced him to ten months, of which he will serve up to half.

"There's too much of this crafty thieving going on in the city centre," he said.

And he commended the "public spiritedness" of Mr Fry and Mr Leathen with the cash reward after they dashed to the woman's rescue.

He said the offence happened late at night, the woman had been vulnerable, undoubtedly targeted and the property taken was of significant importance.

Inside her purse was a tram card with £200 credit, £5 in cash, a university card and her driving licence.

"This was a mean, nasty, targeted offence," said the judge.

"You plainly selected this young woman, who was on her own in the city centre very late at night, because she was obviously vulnerable.

"You sat down next to her, with the obvious intention of stealing from her, and you managed, surreptitiously, to steal her purse."

The court heard in mitigation that the defendant had been in Nottingham for 18 months. He came into the country 14 years ago but has been unable to work because of his asylum status. From July, he will be able to work legitimately, after he was granted a work permit.

He denied the theft from the student, claiming he was at a casino at the time, but was found guilty at Nottingham Magistrates' Court.

Baharlouli was subject to a suspended sentence at the time for battery, after he grabbed his ex-partner in a headlock during a domestic dispute. He received a one-month concurrent sentence for breaching it.

A MAN has been jailed for five years after burgling a house while he was on the run from an open prison.

Philip Kelly claimed he was a lookout during the raid, in which a car was stolen while a family slept.

The high-performance Audi had been "stolen to order" from the family's five-bedroom house in Glebe Avenue, Warsop, in the early hours of Tuesday, May 21, this year.

Burglars forced a kitchen window with a screwdriver and took camera equipment, a laptop, a sat-nav system, mobile phone and two sets of car keys.

"One set of keys related to the family's Audi A6 estate which was parked on the street," prosecutor David Allen told Nottingham Crown Court. "They stole the car and it hasn't been recovered."

On May 24 two female acquaintances of Kelly went to a Cash Generator shop to sell the stolen camera equipment. But the manager was suspicious and asked an assistant staff member to call police. The two females were arrested nearby with Kelly and a bag containing the camera equipment.

Kelly admitted he was responsible for the burglary and theft in Glebe Avenue.

"He said he went there with another male he wouldn't name, who he said he met in jail," explained Mr Allen. "He was asked to assist in the burglary with the aim of stealing the Audi parked outside.

"It was stolen to order by a third party and he [Kelly] said he acted as lookout as the other male used a screwdriver to get in."

Kelly had not even served half of a four-year sentence for burglary on March 30, 2012.

He did not return from day release to HM Prison Hatfield, South Yorkshire, because he missed the train. He stayed on the run for three weeks.

He committed this offence, three house burglaries and an attempted house burglary, which he asked to be taken into consideration.

Kelly was allowed to leave an open prison on the condition he returned.

Judge Michael Stokes QC said: "It's a matter of public concern that repeat burglars are allowed out of prison on this basis."

Kelly, 33, of no fixed address, had 46 previous convictions.

He pleaded guilty to burglary, receiving five years, and theft of the Audi, for which he was sentenced to two years concurrent.

A 21-YEAR-OLD from Carlton has an incredible 11 jobs, working nearly 60 hours a week.

David Day, of Violet Road, barely spends a waking hour sat down as he juggles five paid jobs with six voluntary roles.

He splits his spare time between jobs at St Jude's Youth Group at Mapperley Top; St John Ambulance; Mapperley Sports Village, where he coaches badminton and football; Carlton Life Saving and Gedling Play Forum, doing at least 16 hours a week between them.

David also works between 30 and 40 hours in an average week, in his five paid jobs. They include being a lunchtime attendant at Westdale Junior School, a steward at Notts County, work at local afterschool club Roosters, Redhill Community Centre and Primark in Nottingham city centre.

There are almost 4,000 unemployed people between the age of 18 and 24 in Nottingham, and a further 660 in Gedling borough.

David said: "There's a perception that young people won't do anything for nothing, but there are people my age out there who want to help others. It's nice to have money, but I don't care about it. To help people and do something I enjoy means much more.

"I often lose count of how many hours I do. Once you get past 25, you just don't bother counting anymore."

Dave Thomas, volunteer co-ordinator at Gedling Community and Voluntary Services added: "David is an amazing role model for volunteers and young people out there."

THE unravelling of Britain's resources-starved public services is exemplified in countless ways.

There was the time it took to get an ambulance to stricken pensioner Doreen Goodman – two hours, as reported yesterday, instead of the "Green Two" requirement of 30 minutes.

There is the concern in West Bridgford and Arnold about the withdrawal of their local fire engines. Fire service management may protest that the cuts will not put the public "in any significant risk" but if I lived in either of those neighbourhoods I'd rather have a jolly red appliance parked in the parish than rumbling in from distant parts.

And remember, to get to an emergency on time – or even 90 minutes late – our fire and ambulance crews face another hazard: the symptom of public service cuts most readily identified by road users – the dangerous proliferation of potholes.

Take what were once the best-maintained roads in Europe, add decades of short-sighted patch-up "maintenance", two savage winters and now the evaporation of highways budgets and you have crumbling tracks that might be acceptable to hardy Masai drovers but are a bit embarrassing in the northern hemisphere in the 21st Century.

I wonder how local authorities' attitudes to fly-tipping will survive this seemingly eternal public spending crisis?

I could be wrong but I detect an increase in fly-tipping in my neighbourhood, which may in part have been occasioned by the county council's daft decision to cut costs by closing its surburban recycling centre at the old Gedling Colliery site and ask the bulk of the population to spark up their internal combustion engines, break out their road maps and take their household waste across country all the way to Calverton.

Possibly for that reason, or possibly because he is not the sharpest blade in the armoury, some anti-social specimen dumped a sofa in the exposed stairwell leading to my flat.

I reported this fly-tipping to Gedling Borough Council but its retainers considered the matter and concluded that the item was on private property – it would therefore not be collected and my neighbours and I, the innocent parties, would have to remove the wretched thing ourselves or pay to have it removed.

Like the borough council (which in every other respect I am happy to commend) I am a tightwad, so the sofa is still there.

Disabled pensioner Helen Dawson will know how I feel. As reported in yesterday's Post, a halfwit toe-rag dumped an unwanted flat-screen television in her Arnold front garden and she got the same response from the same council: "Cough up £13 and we'll take it away."

The best the council could come up with is a limp: "When the waste is on private property, the owner has to take responsibility."

In the current financial situation I doubt if the council will grow up and adopt the much more responsible policy of neighbouring Nottingham City Council, who will remove unwanted household goods by appointment and at no charge.

Until that happens, however, people like Hazel Dawson and me are left to conclude that our local authority is happy for us to be at the mercy of law-breaking fly-tippers.

You can't balance a sofa on a supermini's roof and it's a bit much to ask a disabled 75-year-old to shove an Odeon-sized flat-screen under her arm and mount a bus expedition all the way to Calverton.

It's also a bit much to ask law-abiding people who are already affronted and inconvenienced by the excesses of fly-tippers to peel off £13 to deal with a problem they didn't cause.

Is there not a case for prosecuting fly-tippers more vigorously, increasing the penalties and reserving some of the revenue for a socially-responsible policy on the clearance of bulky waste – be it legitimately or illegally created?