Could You Let Me Know If Mud, Deposited on the Highway Has Been a Contributory Factor in Any Road Traffic Incident in the Following Places

NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED

PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS DEPARTMENT Information Assurance & Vetting Police Headquarters, Saunders Lane, Hutton, Preston PR4 5SB Tel: 01772 413324 Email: information@lancashire.pnn.police.uk

K Martin Via Whatdotheyknow.com

Sent via email to: - [email protected]

19 February 2015

Dear Mr Martin

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION APPLICATION REFERENCE NO: 6122/14

Thank you for your request for information received by Lancashire Constabulary on the 20 October 2014 which was as follows:-

Could you let me know if mud, deposited on the highway has been a contributory factor in any Road Traffic Incident in the following places:

South Ribble Borough & the total for all of Lancashire.

Is it illegal to deposit mud on the highways?

Can there be any exceptions?

Has any one been prosecuted for depositing mud on the highways in South Ribble and all of Lancashire?

Clarification was sought from you on the 20 October in relation to what you meant by the ‘South Ribble Borough’. You responded with the definition below: -

A list of "towns" follow

Penwortham Howick Cross Hutton Walmer Bridge Much Hoole Little Hoole Longton New Longton Midge Hall Whitestake Farrington Moss

NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED This information has been provided in response to a request under the Freedom Of Information Act 2000, and is correct as at the date originally provided. NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED

Farrington Lostock Hall Bamber Bridge Higher Walton Walton le Dale Samlesbury Mellor Brook Hoghton & Leyland

Further clarification was then sought from you enquiring as to what period of time you required the information for and by what type of year e.g. calendar or financial. You returned with the below response: - over the last 10 calender years if possible, or the nearest available please, include this year (in part).

Please accept my apologies for not providing you with a response before now. Your request has now been considered and the information you are seeking can be found below:-

The traffic collision recording system used by the force has been searched using the following parameters: -

• Accidents occurring between 1 st January 2004 and 17 th November 2014 (inclusive) • Accidents recorded as above with RTC Delete Indicator = ‘N’ (No) • Accidents recorded as above with RTC Record Status <> ‘C’ (Cancelled) • Accidents recorded as above with RTC How Occurred field containing the word ‘mud’ OR ‘deposit’

This search returned 126 records in total and after a manual audit of the ‘how occurred field’ and the removal of any collisions which did mention ‘mud on the road’ this left 75 records remaining*

*Please note they mention mud on the road but not all specifically ‘mud deposited on highway’.

1. Of the 75 records only 1 contained a town name listed in the ‘South Ribble Borough’ as defined by yourself.

2. There are Home Office Offence Classes of: -

o 122/07 Deposit a thing on the highway o 123/05 Deposit thing on a highway causing injury / danger to user o 124/03 Deposit thing on a highway causing damage

3. An exemption has not been located however I can advise that the legislation states without 'lawful authority or reasonable excuse', which is the only defence that can be found. If the matter progresses the legislation puts the emphasis on the defendant to provide to the court their lawful authority or reasonable excuse and the court will then decide.

4. The custody recording system used by Lancashire Constabulary has been searched using the following parameters: -

• Anyone in custody between 1 st January 2004 and 17 th November 2014 (inclusive) • As above and Original Reference Number IS NULL (not a ‘Cloned’ record) • As above and HO Class is 122/07 OR 123/05 OR 124/03 and Charge Title contains ‘Deposit’

This search returned 4 records in total where all were released No Further Action; however please note none of these 4 records were from South Ribble borough.

If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your request and wish to make a complaint or request an internal review of our decision, you should write to the Information Assurance & Vetting Manager, Information Assurance & Vetting, Police Headquarters, Saunders Lane, Hutton, Preston PR4 5SB or alternatively send an email to [email protected] . Details of the Constabulary’s Freedom of Information Complaint Procedures can be found attached to this email.

If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint, you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the Information Commissioner’s Office cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints procedure provided by Lancashire Constabulary. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.

Yours sincerely

Jessica Clulow Information Assurance & Vetting

NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED This information has been provided in response to a request under the Freedom Of Information Act 2000, and is correct as at the date originally provided.