I took 5 car loads of garden rubbish to the tip today, starting this morning and ending with the last trip just before the football started. On the first trip I saw someone standing by the side of the road with a trolley and a black bin bag, holding a sign saying, "I NEED HELP, LEGAL and more. " I couldn't really tell if it was male or female as they were wrapped up and wearing a hood. Where they were standing was kind of the middle of nowhere and seemed an odd place to be. I drove past this person 10 times on my trips to and fro and they were still there. On two of my trips I passed a police car, so I thought, 'good, the police will help them with whatever they need,' but the person was still there. On my last trip I tried to get a better look and think they were female and probably under 30 but couldn't be sure on either count. I can't give legal advice but I wondered why this person thought the side of the A40 on a Sunday afternoon was the place to find it. I'm feeling guilty as they looked like they had been thrown out of somewhere, with their possessions in a bin bag. Obviously no-one else helped either. What would you have done?
Something seems wrong with that setup so no I'd drive on. I've stopped before more than once to help people who are obviously stranded on the roads, so I'd sleep just fine.
I have to admit Afanof, I wouldn't have stopped. Seems a bit strange to me. You would've thought the police would maybe have helped this person.
No stop from me. If you need help desperately, you would not stay in the same position all day. I would say this is just another chancer trying to get extra cash from people. In that bin bag would most likely be rubbish that they got out of a bin to make it look as though they had all their possessions in it.
I would have rang the police and let them handle it, as they might have been genuine and really needed help, or equally they could have been some sort of nutter?
Watching Hustle has really screwed things up for me. The sky man came round to fix the box and I was convinced he was scamming us...
No, I would not off stopped, you shouldn't feel gulity anyway after getting rid of all that garden garbage.
Thanks for your views. I was feeling like a bad person so it's good to know I'm not alone! Seriously, it was just a bit too odd to make it a clear cut decision. This is what I was considering and then I was passed by a police car going towards the person, who was unmissable, so I assumed they would help.
More importantly, how big is your garden to produce 5 car-fulls of rubbish!? Does it have more grass (or mud) than the Vic?
Shoudl of thrown a piece of paper out the window with directions to nearest citizens advice beureau. plenty of help and legal advice for free there. was probably a scammer or a mentalist.
Definitely got more moss than the Vic. Definitely wasn't Simon Baker or I would have stopped! Why do you want to know?
You could email the local police safer neighbourhood team or section of the council that deals with support for the homeless. Give the description and the where and when and ask if they know the person and if they're okay? Often people that are begging and stuff choose not to live in an offered hostel or have enough and a place and are scamming for drug or drink money, or simply they have mental health issues. There are support workers who would follow that up - the safer neighbourhood gnomes would know how to find them.
