Praise for getting North Kesteven's bin lorry fleet back on the road after 28 batteries stolen from trucks in yard

North Kesteven District Council leaders have praised everyone involved in getting the authority's fleet of waste collection lorries back on the road after a burglary overnight at their depot.
Back on the road - NKDC's waste collection fleet heading out after the team found replacement batteries for those taken in a burglary overnight. EMN-180702-155402001Back on the road - NKDC's waste collection fleet heading out after the team found replacement batteries for those taken in a burglary overnight. EMN-180702-155402001
Back on the road - NKDC's waste collection fleet heading out after the team found replacement batteries for those taken in a burglary overnight. EMN-180702-155402001

Thieves broke in overnight (TuesdayWednesday) and had time to steal 28 batteries and connectors from NKDC’s refuse trucks parked at its Sleaford Road depot in Metheringham.

After the discovery by staff arriving for work this morning there were delays in crews getting out to carry out bin collections in the district while workshop staff and suppliers scrambled to find replacement parts.

The trucks were finally back on the road by 10.30am this morning - just three hours late.

A message on social media from NKDC stated: “We have been able to get enough batteries to get our fleet back on the road and all refuse collection vehicles will be on the road by 10.30am.

“There will be delays in collections today but we will endeavour to make sure all bins are collected.”

Extra crews were drafted in to help catch up and all bins have now been emptied, according to an NKDC spokesman.

The council’s chief executive Ian Fytche commented via his Twitter account: “The response of our teams at NKDC, our suppliers, partners and Lincolnshire Police has been fantastic, demonstrating the resilience of our business continuity plans, and the commitment to maintain services for communities across North Kesteven.”

Hefty items to steal. These are similar to the ones stolen from NKDC's bin lorries overnight. EMN-180702-155240001Hefty items to steal. These are similar to the ones stolen from NKDC's bin lorries overnight. EMN-180702-155240001
Hefty items to steal. These are similar to the ones stolen from NKDC's bin lorries overnight. EMN-180702-155240001

Leader of the Council Coun Richard Wright added: “Thank you to our team and suppliers for their swift response to the break-in at our Metheringham depot last night, ensuring waste collections will continue today.”

Coun Richard Wright added: “We’re extremely disappointed that someone has done this and disabled the valuable community service.

“We are working closely with Lincolnshire Police to identify those responsible.”

If you have any information contact police on 101 quoting incident number 36 of today (Wednesday) or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.