Supermarkets criticised after trollies end up in river

SUPERMARKETS in Strabane have been accused of ‘not caring’ after trollies belonging to the stores were found in the River Mourne.

Local indepedent councillor Raymond Barr was alerted to the problem, which is a yearly issue, by the chairman of the Strabane and Lifford Angling Club. The chairman, who wished to not be named, then relayed his concerns to the Chronicle after being contacted.

He said, “Every year it’s the same old story. Last year, we pulled out 24 trollies from the river and I dread to think what this year’s tally will be when we check. The issue stems from trollies which are taken off the premises and being abandoned either at the top of Eden Terrace, John Wesley Street or the SCORE site, leading to young ones taking the trollies and dumping them in the river for fun.

“I have been in contact with Iceland, Asda and Supervalu on the problem as their trollies are the three offenders, although Iceland maybe has one or two at most.

“Iceland immediately said ‘Ok we’ll do something’ and to their credit, they did. I have been constantly contacting Supervalu, told to leave my details and someone would come back to me but I’ve had nothing done about it. As for Asda, I was initially told ‘great, bring them back and we’ll re-use them’ but by the time the trollies are fished out they’re unusuable.”

He continued, “I did suggest that Asda’s maintenance crew go and get them out of the river but that was also dismissed.”

The chairman says he is deeply concerned that an angler, whether new to the sport or an experienced hand, could end up being killed as a result.

Cllr Barr also expressed deep concern surrounding the issue, highlighting the potential issues which could be faced by rescue services. He said, “Trollies in the river present an obvious risk to anglers fishing in the river and on talking to representatives of the Community Rescue Service, they have echoed the concerns of local fishermen citing the risk to volunteers who may be engaged in a rescue operation.”

Asda and Supervalu were contacted about trollies and asked what measures were being taken to mitigate the situation. At the time of going to print Supervalu had not responded but a spokesperson from Asda issued a statement.

It said, “All of our trolleys are coin-operated and whilst we know that the majority of our customers look after our trolleys, if anybody happens to spot one of our trolleys anywhere they shouldn’t be, they can let us know by calling 0800 0933 350 or by downloading the Collex App so the trolley can be collected as soon as possible.”