'150 Morrisons trolleys dumped in the River Tyne' near Jarrow and Hebburn

Supermarket bosses have been told to get a handle on lost shopping trolleys after reports 150 of them lie dumped in the river near their store.
Morrisons trolleys rounded-up in JarrowMorrisons trolleys rounded-up in Jarrow
Morrisons trolleys rounded-up in Jarrow

People living near the Morrisons in Jarrow have bemoaned problems with abandoned trolleys left strewn in the streets where they live.

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She said residents taking their shopping home in trolleys and not returning them has become an issue in the last few years.

File picture of a Morrisons supermarket on a trolley handle,. Picture by Andrew Matthews/PA WireFile picture of a Morrisons supermarket on a trolley handle,. Picture by Andrew Matthews/PA Wire
File picture of a Morrisons supermarket on a trolley handle,. Picture by Andrew Matthews/PA Wire

Now a community leader is putting more pressure on the supermarkets to take action, claiming there are 150 carts lying in the River Tyne in Jarrow and Hebburn

Independent councillor Paul Milburn has recruited a team to begin fishing them out of the water, but is calling for the chains responsible to do more to stop them ending up there in the first place.

“We’ve estimated there’s been about 150 trolleys dumped in the river, but you can only see them at low tide,” said Coun Milburn.

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“After a bit of digging I realised the land belongs to the [Church of England] commissioners so I contacted their agent and I was pleasantly surprised, they said they had a budget to fix it but couldn’t get anyone to do it, but I was able to help them find a contractor.”

Councillor Paul MilburnCouncillor Paul Milburn
Councillor Paul Milburn

Now Coun Milburn is trying to arrange a meeting with management at Morrisons – which he described as ‘the main offender’ – to encourage them to do more.

The firm, which has a store in the Viking Centre, uses a company to collect the trolleys on its behalf, a coin system to deter thefts and the ‘Trolleywise’ mobile app, which allows the public to report wayward carts.

Coun Milburn added: “Bearing in mind I believe the trolleys are only in the river because they’ve hung around on the streets so long kids have pushed them in, if they had been recovered sooner I don’t think we’d be seeing the problem in the Tyne.

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“I expect Morrisons to give at least an hour a day to trying to recover these trolleys before they find their way to the water and that is what I will ask for – they shouldn’t be relying on the public and council.

Residents say problems with trolleys include children playing with them in the street, the carts appearing in front of house doors – or even in gardens piled up with rubbish.

A Morrisons spokeswoman said the chain was ‘concerned about abandoned trolleys’ but did not comment on Coun Milburn’s call to do more.

It added: “We do our best to collect them as soon as the public reports them. We urge customers not to use trolleys to take their shopping home with them.”

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