ONE of the candidates for the local elections in Trowbridge has urged Wiltshire Police to crack down hard on vandals after a newly-installed waste bin was vandalised.

Antonio Piazza, the Tory Group leader on Trowbridge Town Council and one of the candidates for Drynham on Trowbridge Town Council and Wiltshire Council said the bin was ripped off its plinth at the top of Drynham Lane only days after being installed.

He said: "Unfortunately, our new Drynham Lane bin, which I worked hard to negotiate for the ward, has been ripped from the ground.

"A very kind couple in Drynham, who contacted me to let me know, has stood the bin back up in place, but it's not stable or secure in the ground like before. "Trowbridge Town Council Neighbourhood Services has responded and will take a look at it - being fantastically helpful and responsive as always.

"Whilst I am disappointed, as litter down Drynham Lane is something that I am really passionate about getting sorted, it only makes me more determined than ever to clamp down on vandalism and clean up my ward.

"This is not the first time our litter bins have been vandalised in Trowbridge, and it certainly won’t be the last.

"Not too long ago, we had the litter bins near the Trowbridge Park Pond vandalised, with one being thrown into the pond itself.

"It’s just not acceptable ― we need to come down on these vandals hard."

Mr Piazza was speaking jus a week after taking part in a cross-party litter pick in Drynham Lane that also included other Conservative and Liberal Democrat candidates in the local elections on May 6.

He had asked last October for the town council to install the bin at the top of Drynham Lane opposite the Kentucky Fried Chicken retail outlet after residents reported an increase in flytipping and litter being dropped in the area.

Trowbridge Town Council recently agreed to budget £40,000 a year to fund litter bin services over the next two years.

The bin was only installed recently to help stop people littering the lane after leaving fast food outlets on the Spitfire Retail Park in Bradley Road.

Mr Piazza added: "Neighbourhood Services were fantastic in getting it installed and that department on the town council is working proactively to tidy up Trowbridge.

"If elected, we plan to increase funding to this department to install more bins around Trowbridge and ensure that the team have the resources to clean up the town properly.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has unfortunately led to an increase of flytipping and litter droppers. Wiltshire Council spends £2.8 million a year picking up litter. The fine is £150 if caught.

"I have spoken to the deputy leader of Wiltshire Council Richard Clewer and we have plans drawn up to clamp down on litterers and claw back that £2.8 million and deal with Wiltshire’s growing litter problem.”

"The community in Drynham are forever resilient and determined to make the area a better place to live for everyone - no matter how hard vandals like this make it for us, we'll carry on."