Refusal to pay
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• A Black Country haulier is refusing to pay his business rates until the local council cracks down on fuel thieves who plague his yard.
Trevor Poulton, managing director of WB Transport in Kingswinford, says he has had more than £5,000 worth of diesel stolen over the past three years while damage to fuel tanks has cost him even more. His company operates a fleet of 22 trucks.
He alleges travellers who illegally park on the council's nearby official gipsy camp are to blame for the problem, "In my eyes, the council is responsible for people who occupy their site. I have taken the decision to withhold payment of rates until some effort is made to sort the problem out.* A spokesman for Dudley Council says non-payment of rates will result in court action because the council has a legal duty to pass them on to central government. "Mr Poulton needs to speak to the police in the first instance and then the council to find a way of tackling these problems."