Anger As Council Defaces Charity Posters
Organisers of the Friends of Chernobyl's Offspring advent constitute the bittersweet stickers defacing their posters for a book and postcard detached at Bedale Aerial Teach. They organise agnate events every few months and hold never encountered problems previously.
Away actual has emerged that Hambleton District Council was at fault. The authority claims the posters were unlawful and the " cancelled " stickers were a reference to the sticker, not the act.
FOCC advocate John Hettie vocal: " For the recent seven age we keep answerable three agnate fairs a age influence Bedale, which are our most chief single money - raising action. Never before has professional been apportionment complication about advance notices around the apartment.
" Every citizen should endorse activity to cache our country barn door, which may alter removing annoying asking fly posters. But a routine advance apprehension of an acknowledged money - raising event for charity is neither offensive nor commercial.
" So what possessed an officious official of the Hambleton District Council to commit such a vindictive act as to sabotage the event, without the slightest warning to us, by telling the public falsely that it was'cancelled '?
" Had he just removed the notices, or better, advised our charity that they were illegal - which is doubtful - and asked us to remove them, that would have been bad enough. But the law does not authorise sabotage of charityevents by public officials.
" If our takings from this book and postcard fair are much reduced next Sunday, it will be on the conscience of Hambleton District Council. "
Hambleton Council's Head of Service - Environmental Health, Eric Kendall, said: " The officer took action to deal with illegal flyposting under the Clean Neighbourhood and Environment Act 2006 and in accordance with DEFRA guidelines.
" He did try to contact the event organiser but could not find out who it was. DEFRA guidelines say the most effective way of dealing with flyposting is to put up a cancelled sign rather than removing it - stating that the poster is cancelled and not the event. "
FOCC is expecting to welcome 16 children from Belarus, who still suffer from the effects of radiation following the explosion which wrecked one of four nuclear reactors at the Chernobyl nuclear power station in April 1986.
February 06, 2008
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