Latest news with #DaveDudley
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Yahoo
Caravan travellers called out over 'disgusting' find on side of remote Aussie road
Caravanners have been urged not to use the roadside as a personal dumping ground after faecal matter and other hygiene products including condoms were found dumped along the side of a busy road. Dave Dudley, who runs Tidy Up Townsville, an organisation which tackles the steady stream of dumping incidents around the city, told Yahoo News he was attending an unrelated incident last week when he spotted a "dark, unusual stain on the edge of Mill Road". "A septic tank had been dumped," he explained. "It might have been someone with a caravan or mobile home... or it could have been from one of those portaloos that people hire for parties or events. They've dumped the contents there, rather than [in] a proper pit." Dave believes the "disgusting" contents, which included condoms and sanitary pads, had been there for several days and said it had "settled into the ground". It's not the first time Dave has responded to a septic tank dumping, and he questioned why people would choose to do this when there are facilities readily available for proper disposal. "There's no positives in illegal dumping whatsoever, not for anyone, not for the environment. I can't fathom why people think it's all right to do this, it's just beyond me," he said. "There was s**t everywhere." Yahoo News has reached out to Queensland's Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation for comment on growing reports of the problem. Last month, the department launched an investigation after 200 tyres were illegally dumped in one of the state's national parks. Dave has been running Tidy Up Townsville for the last six years, and told Yahoo while the dumping has felt "constant" since he launched the group, it's become particularly bad in the last 12 months. With the sale of caravans steadily climbing over the last few years, there are concerns the rate of people hitting the road but still wanting to travel in luxury has resulted in more waste dumping incidents along the country's roads. 📣 Grey nomads called out for common caravanning trait on Aussie roads 😞 10-tonne find on Aussie beach highlights devastating issue ⚠️ Tourists travelling outback Australia issue grim warning Toby Read is an operations manager for 4WD hire group No Limits in Queensland, and has also been urging travellers to tidy up after themselves after recently noticing an uptick in the amount of rubbish left by campers and caravan travellers. "It's a shame that they don't just put it back in their caravan and take it home. Visitors come to enjoy a pristine environment, and then leave rubbish behind for some reason I don't understand," he told Yahoo News in October. Anecdotally, it's been a similar story over in Western Australia. Popular tourist towns in the south between Albany and Denmark have found the issue particularly bad over the holiday periods, with everything from toilet roll, toiletries and even a portable toilet dumped along the South Coast Highway last year. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Aerial photo exposes 'appalling' act in Aussie bush attracting a $2,500 fine
Aerial shots of a black line snaking along a bush track near a major Aussie city show the extent of a recent illegal oil dumping, with hundreds of litres of the thick, black substance left to simply saturate the ground and contaminate waterways. Townsville local Dave Dudley leads Tidy Up Townsville, a charity tirelessly trying to clean up the city. He told Yahoo News he spends most days responding to dumping calls, but last week's incident near Saunders Beach was particularly "appalling". "Someone had contacted me about the dumping out there so I went and had a look. We think the people that dumped it got bogged from all the oil on the back of the vehicle because there was so much extra weight," he told Yahoo. "It was pretty disgusting... it absolutely stank. Why would someone do that?" Footage captured by Dave shows the ground completely sodden with oil. "Some parts are just chockablock with oil and it extends from up here, at the start of this mangrove, then goes all the way down here to that mangrove," Dave can be heard saying in a video, before dipping his finger in the oil and showing it to the camera covered in a black, thick film. Dave reported the incident to Townsville council, who confirmed to Yahoo News the oil was so far-reaching it spread across council-land and private owned land. "This illegal behaviour has an impact on our environment, and ultimately it has an impact on the ratepayer," Councillor Brodie Phillips told Yahoo News. "Council officers actively patrol known illegal dumping sites and can issue fines of more than $2500." The council confirmed it had contacted the Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation (DETSI) due to the "nature of the spill and its proximity to nearby waterways" and the department has launched an investigation. It is not known who is behind the act. DETSI are calling for the public to come forward with information on the incident and confirmed the private landowner has started to clean up the oil, with soil having to be removed from the area. "We encourage anyone with information about this incident to report it to the Pollution Hotline on 1300 130 372," a DETSI spokesperson said. 👷♂️ Tradies forced to make $100,000 clean-up after selfish act at national park 🚘 Hundreds of tyres mysteriously stacked up in family's driveway 🚨 Cops make 'extremely dangerous' find on ute tyres There continues to be a steady stream of litter and discarded items being found across Townsville, with furniture, tyres, shopping trolleys and even unopened bags of chips and drink cans often strewn across known hotspots. Tidy Up Townsville volunteers and council officers continue to patrol the area, but it seems they are fighting a losing battle. "It's just getting worse," Dave told Yahoo. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Yahoo
Bizarre trend emerges in Aussie city as $400 worth of unopened food found in bush
Littering and illegal dumping continue to run rampant in Townsville, but in a bizarre turn of events, locals are now finding hundreds of unopened packets of chips and drink cans strewn across the bush. Adding to the wide range of items that are regularly dumped along north Queensland's Bohle River, such as furniture, tyres, shopping trolleys, and remnants of illegal copper burning, the unopened goods were found by two volunteers who often patrol the littering hotspots along Dalrymple Road and Hervey Range Road. Dave Dudley and Ian Matthews from Townsville Tidy Up, an organisation created to clean up the city, explained there have been four separate incidents of chip and can littering in the last four weeks. "There were all these cans there and I thought, wait a minute, most of the packets of chips are half full and they're all in date," Ian told Yahoo News, recalling his most recent discovery over the weekend. "It's the third time that I've found this kind of thing. My mate Dave also found the same sort of thing, it's probably happened four times in four weeks... It's odd." The littering has occurred across two sites, and the goods have been largely unopened. The few chip packets that have been opened have been discarded on the ground. "It's just been a mess of unopened cans and bottles and drink containers, and just for some odd reason some packets of chips emptied all over the ground," Dave explained to Yahoo News. "I reckon it's been more than $400 worth of stuff." 👷♂️ Tradies forced to make $100,000 clean-up after selfish act at national park 🚘 Hundreds of tyres mysteriously stacked up in family's driveway 🚨 Cops make 'extremely dangerous' find on ute tyres The pair told Yahoo News they had no idea who was behind the behaviour and why it was happening, but are both eager to get answers. Yahoo News reached out to Townsville Council after Dave said he has reported each incident to the council via the SnapSendSolve app. A spokesperson for the Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation (DETSI) told Yahoo News it has received no reports of the littering incidents but warned anyone caught in the act will be fined $322. There were suggestions online that goods were stolen from a local supermarket or club, however, these have been purely speculative and a theory Ian has discredited. "I think a shop would have reported it after four weeks in a row," he said. Dave also weighed into the oddness of the situation, questioning why the goods were not being enjoyed at a time when grocery prices are rising, and Aussie households are struggling to make ends meet. "It's strange. I don't know why, if you have access to stock, why you wouldn't give it away or eat them yourself," Dave said. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Late-night encounter on shopping centre roof highlights sinister new trend
A sinister new crime trend sweeping across Australia, and causing millions of dollars worth of damage, appears to show no signs of slowing down. A 50-year-old man was arrested on Sunday night after police allege he and another man tried to steal copper from a building under construction in Townsville. Footage released by Queensland authorities shows two officers climbing onto the shopping centre's roof before shining a torch on a man standing in the corner wearing a camouflage shirt and hood. One of the officers is then seen taking photos of a wheelie bin brimming with copper cables. The 50-year-old is now facing numerous charges, including entering a premises with intent to commit an indictable offence and possessing property suspected of having been used in connection with the commission of a drug offence. He will appear in Townsville Magistrates Court on July 4. Queensland Police have urged anyone with information about the ongoing investigation to contact authorities. 👮 Thieves dressed as tradies costing Aussies millions in nationwide trend 🏡 Tradie's disbelief as thieves 'rip out' $300 item from under Aussie home 💰 Woman's surprise passenger on Aussie road prompts $376 fine The latest incident comes just weeks after Dave Dudley, who runs Tidy Up Townsville, stumbled across a burnt-out patch of grass and sand at what he claims was a 'copper cooking' site on the side of a road. The well-known method involves pouring petrol onto copper to burn and strip off any unwanted materials from the metal, such as plastic or insulation, before it is sold. Many parts of the country have been grappling with copper theft in recent years, with people stealing it from homes and building sites and selling it to scrap metal dealers who melt and reshape it for reuse. However, the 'lucrative and attractive venture for thieves' is particularly prevalent in Queensland. In 2023 alone, the illegal act cost the state $4.5 million in damages to the electrical network, with culprits even reportedly dressing as tradies to avoid detection while they make away with live wires. "We've had instances where copper thieves have taken up to 1,000 metres of cable in one night. That's a significant amount of damage to the network,' Chris Graham, an Energex area manager, previously told Yahoo. According to the Australian Institute of Criminology, the federal government has estimated the annual cost of metal theft is valued at well over $100 million. Depending on the type and quality, copper can fetch as much as $10 per kilogram. It's been estimated that 90 per cent of all copper theft takes place at night or on weekends. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Yahoo
Roadside find reveals 'disgusting' trend sweeping across Australia: 'A massive issue'
Materials tossed onto the side of the road near a burnt-out patch of grass and sand highlight the worsening trend of copper theft in Australia, with a man who has stumbled upon the "congealed mess" at several sites telling Yahoo News the crime is sprouting new, worrisome behaviour. Dave Dudley runs Tidy Up Townsville, a group of over 4,000 members who gather regularly to clean up local dump sites around the north Queensland city. He was dirt biking on Monday morning when he found pieces of charred plastic as well as tyres, bricks and discarded kitchen items along Port Access Road, an area not far from the CBD. Dave claims the area showed clear signs of what he calls "copper cooking" — the act of pouring petrol onto copper to strip off any unwanted materials from the metal, such as plastic or insulation, before it is sold. It's a well-known method of stripping copper, with two males recently arrested in Alice Springs after they were suspected of burning copper cable in bushland. Many parts of the country have been grappling with copper theft in recent years, with people stealing it from homes and building sites and selling it to scrap metal dealers who melt and reshape it for reuse, and Townsville is no different. "Either they go out there and strip it manually, like, run a knife down it to take all the plastic off, or the other easier method is to just sit it in a pile on the ground, and then pour a bit of petrol over it and torch it," he told Yahoo News. "It's burnt, but it's still resaleable." Dave said the site was "pretty disgusting" and the mess "was spread several metres" along the road. Yahoo News has reached out to Townsville Council for comment. The behaviour was condemned by the state's Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation (DETSI) who confirmed to Yahoo News officers are aware of it occurring recently. The spokesperson also warned that any type of dumping on public land was not permitted and offenders could face fines of over $12,000 for dumping large amounts of waste. "Dumping waste can potentially harm native wildlife and impact nearby soil and water, while also diminishing the experience of park goers," the DETSI spokesperson sad. "We are dedicated to preserving our protected areas in Townsville from dangerous environmental consequences." As a Townsville local, Dave said his concern continues to rise over this type of behaviour and in a bid to help, he started logging locations in the city where "copper cooking" has been reported. He started a Facebook page and said locals continue to reach out to him, with 52 locations now logged since the start of the year. "It's a massive issue in Townsville," he said. "What's left is just an oily, congealed mess that's getting washed into the waterways and causing pollution." Yahoo News has sought comment from Queensland Police on the reports of copper cooking. 🚗 Driver's dodgy number plate move leads to massive find inside car 😲 Grim 300kg find in Aussie river exposes growing nationwide crisis 📸 Photo exposes illegal act 'surging' across Australia According to the Australian Institute of Criminology, the annual cost of metal theft is valued at well over $100 million, and in Queensland the crime has tripled since 2020. Copper is commonly stolen from vacant homes, construction sites and road infrastructure such as piping and light poles. Not only is it costly and inconvenient to energy providers and new homeowners, but it's also unsafe with tradies taking the brunt of the issue as criminals wander onto worksites after hours. CCTV footage of two alleged criminals dressed as tradies attempting to steal materials was captured at an Energex site in Queensland. Another Gold Coast tradie called out the behaviour of criminals who stole water meters from his site last year, saying online he "hopes your $20 in scrap copper was worth it because this is going to be a nightmare to fix, so, cheers for that." Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
