UPDATE: Abandoned trailer load of rubbish drawn away from Offaly back road by 'van'

A TRAILER full of rubbish which was abandoned on a rural road between Tullamore and Killeigh was removed after its presence was highlighted by local people.

The trailer was first seen on the Tullamore bypass near the whiskey distillery last week and by Thursday it had been moved to a roadside location in Derrygolan, not far from the main Tullamore-Portlaoise road. It was still there on Monday morning.

Speaking on Monday morning to Offaly Live and the Tullamore Tribune, local man Tom McGowan said he contacted the County Council and the gardai about the trailer.

He said it was in good condition and was left at a spot where dumping of construction waste often takes place.

“There's been dumping on and off for years here,” said Mr McGowan. “There's a bag of rubbish further down the road at the moment. The bog road is closed off, we lock it during the winter and someone drove down when it was closed and just dumped it on the side of the road down there. I've reported that to the council.”

While dumping is not unusual in the area, he has never seen those responsible leave their trailer behind, especially one still capable of carrying livestock and worth up to €500. A pony collar was attached to it.

“The council said they'd be out [on Tuesday] to empty it. [Dumping] is not too bad lately but this thing is something new. This is here since last Thursday. I asked the guards about it and because there's no identifying numbers on it they can't do anything.”

One possibility is that the trailer-load of rubbish was first brought to the Derryclure refuse centre nearby and then moved again because of the cost of disposal.

A local farmer, who did not wish to be named, said the trailer had been seen last week on the roadside off the Tullamore bypass near the Tullamore DEW distillery.

Later on Monday, a local resident saw a car, said to be a Dublin registered black Audi, where the trailer had been abandoned.

The driver left after being spoken to but the registration number of the vehicle was noted. At some time after that a van was seen taking the trailer away.