'Chaos' on the roads as taxi drivers say 'we are sick to death of it'

People are 'sick to death' of oil spills in Bootle which are costing the council thousands of pounds and causing travel 'chaos' for local residents.

There have been four oil spills on Millers Bridge in Bootle in the last year alone which have resulted in multiple road closures while the oil is cleaned up. These closures can last up to four days and can cost thousands of pound to clean up.

Residents and taxi drivers have complained about the frequency of the spills, the dangers they present to the community and the impact on their livelihoods.

READ MORE: Enter our £1,500 Aldi voucher giveaway and host a sizzling barbecue to remember!

READ MORE: Win a £25 Just Eat gift card in our amazing Euro 2024 prize giveaway

Ste Brown is a taxi driver and rep for the Hackney Drivers Association and he mostly operates from the rank outside Asda in Bootle. Ste's main point is about the danger created by the oil spills. He said: "Honestly, it's a miracle no one's been hurt or even killed."

Ste remembers an incident on Millers Bridge when he was forced to contact emergency services. A wagon was caught spinning its wheels on the bridge after another oil spill because it could not find the grip to get up the slope. As a result, the truck started to reverse back onto a major A road.

Ste said: "As a wagon driver, you've got no choice. You have to go over Millers Bridge, but if they get half way up and there's an oil spill, they're stuck in an impossible situation and then everyone around - residents and drivers - are placed in danger.

"It feels like it's only a matter of time before someone is seriously hurt or worse."

Ste believes the spills are happening due to a lack of checks on vehicles leaving the industrial sites on Derby Road. He said: "I've seen these oil spills happening for the last ten years.

"You have wagons leaving with unsafe loads and we're being told it's 'driver error' but how many times can these drivers make the same error. It has to be a bigger problem, but no one's coming up with a solution so, it will just keep happening. We're sick of it.

"They need to put checks in place because this problem is preventable, but only if there's a will to do it."

The impact on Ste and his fellow taxi drivers is significant. The road closures and traffic delays caused by the oil spills means his journey times are doubled and results in half the fares. Furthermore, people are left waiting at empty ranks like the one at Asda because all the drivers are caught up in traffic. Over the last year this has becoming increasingly difficult due to the cost-of-living crisis.

Another taxi driver we spoke to was Kenny who said: "As a local taxi driver, I have witnessed first hand the significant disruption caused by the unannounced and prolonged closures of Millers Bridge.

"These closures have forced us to take longer, more convoluted routes, leading to increased travel times and higher costs for our customers. The unpredictability and inconvenience have not only upset our regular customers but have also deterred potential new clients, significantly impacting our daily takings.

"The repeated closures have also had a ripple effect on local businesses. With customers experiencing delays and increased travel costs, many are choosing to avoid the area altogether."

Another concern for both Ste and Kenny, and one shared by numerous local residents we spoke to, is the cost of cleaning up the oil spills on Millers Bridge and who is responsible for paying these costs.

The LDRS has seen a response by Sefton Council to a Freedom of Information request about clean-up costs for an oil spill incident on April 24. The response stated: "The costs of the ‘clean up’ operation are now finalised; the total cost being £12,429.75."

The letter added: "These costs have been met by the council. If the organisation responsible cannot be traced, then the council will not be able to recover the costs."

The worry for many residents within the borough is the £12,429 figure cost of cleaning up one oil spill incident and the impact on the local authority budget. Due to 14 years of austerity, council finances are stretched to the limit and unrecoverable costs from 'preventable' oil spills will have a significant impact on those finances.

After initial CCTV checks, the local authority said they have not been able to identify the vehicle responsible for the incident on April 24. Although no figures are available for other incidents which have occurred over the last ten years, it has left residents wondering what the total cost is of every oil spill clean-up in Bootle.

A spokesperson for Sefton Council added: “If a clean-up operation is required this can significantly impact the length of time a road is closed resulting in extended delays and disruption for highway users as well as potentially avoidable costs which will initially fall on the Local Authority.”

The spokesperson added: "Sefton Council will always seek to recover costs once a vehicle is identified as being responsible for a carriageway disruption. This includes speaking to any company that may be represented by that vehicle."

Don't miss the biggest and breaking stories by signing up to the Echo Daily newsletter here