A CHESTER businessman is angry that a tramp keeps leaving a disgusting present on his door step almost every night.
Rob Smith, who does not wish his firm to be identified, says the homeless man regularly defecates outside the entrance to his Liverpool Road business as well as at the Queen's Lower School and in a nearby alleyway.
So far this week he has had to clear up the mess following visits on both Saturday and Monday nights.
And he was annoyed when police told him no criminal offence had been committed.
Instead Mr Smith was told he must take out a civil action against the homeless man, who is known to the police, but refused to pass on the suspect's details citing the Data Protection Act.
Mr Smith, who has spent £6,000 installing a CCTV system to catch the man in the act, said: 'You can see him walking away with toilet paper stuck to his shoe. It's comical in a way but it's getting to be quite irritating as well.
'He could have hepatitis. He could have anything.'
Mr Smith lay in wait one Sunday night and followed the tramp only to spot the man defecating in an alley linking Liverpool Road and Parkgate Road used by students.
He rang police who had words with the man at the scene but the problem, which began last November, has continued.
'I thought the job's done. I phoned up to ask what happened and they said 'we can't tell you'. They said he's not breaking the law because it's on private property and there's nothing we can do.
'I said if I peed in the street you'd arrest me.
They said 'yes, but he's doing it in your driveway which is trespass and a civil matter, you'll need to bring a civil injunction'.
'I said who is he and where is he?
They said 'we can't tell you because he's got rights under the Data Protection Act'. What about our rights?'
Mr Smith told the police he suspected if it was happening outside the Chief Constable's home the matter would have been 'resolved long ago'.
'No wonder people sometimes take the law into their own hands. If I threw a bucket of water or asked him to clean it up and put my hands on him, that's assault.'
PC Rhys Nevett of Cheshire police understood the Queen's School had also reported the matter to police. He said the behaviour was problematic in terms of criminal law but one possibility was to bring a charge of harassment.
'It's quite disgusting really and I can understand Rob's frustration,' said PC Nevett, who said police had the suspect's name and were 'happy' to pass on his details if the complainant wished to pursue a civil action.
david.holmes@cheshirenews.co.uk
