Rubbish from cannabis grow dumped in river cleaned by 'Good Samaritan' High Peak tree surgeon

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A tree surgeon who was out on a job saw the ‘utter mess’ from cannabis grow which had been dumped in the river and took it upon himself to clean everything up at his own expense.

Dean Longden was assisting a client with tree maintenance in Kettleshulme when he was shown the flytipping which had been launched down a 30ft incline into the water below.

He then returned with his sons and friends and spent a week cleaning up the river and the river bank.

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Beulah Jones, daughter of the client, contacted the Buxton Advertiser to let people know about his kind heart.

Dean Longden along with friends and family cleared fly tipping in Kettleshulme. Photo submittedDean Longden along with friends and family cleared fly tipping in Kettleshulme. Photo submitted
Dean Longden along with friends and family cleared fly tipping in Kettleshulme. Photo submitted

She said: “Dean and his sons were Good Samaritans and have single-handedly helped the environment here in the High Peak.” We then reached out to Dean who said he had not done this for any kind of public recognition.

“It just needed doing,” he said.

“It was an utter mess and a proper disgrace.

“There was panels and panels of insulation which had already started to break up in the river.

It took Dean Longden almost almost ten hours to clear the illegally fly tipped waste at his own cost. Photo submittedIt took Dean Longden almost almost ten hours to clear the illegally fly tipped waste at his own cost. Photo submitted
It took Dean Longden almost almost ten hours to clear the illegally fly tipped waste at his own cost. Photo submitted

“All the small wildlife in the area like fish and birds but there is also deer in that area so something needed to be done.”

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Dean, from Longdon Tree Services, said as well as the panels of insulation there were also tubs and planters with soil in them.

He said: “We won’t ever know what happened but I can only guess the people behind this farm were trying to get rid of the evidence.

“But all they did was create a problem for other people.

Dean Longden of Longden Tree Services has been praised for cleaning up lots of insulation panels which were dumped in a beauty spot in Kettleshulme. Photo submittedDean Longden of Longden Tree Services has been praised for cleaning up lots of insulation panels which were dumped in a beauty spot in Kettleshulme. Photo submitted
Dean Longden of Longden Tree Services has been praised for cleaning up lots of insulation panels which were dumped in a beauty spot in Kettleshulme. Photo submitted

“There was no way my client, who is an older gent, would have been able to get down the steep bank so I said I’d do it.”

Dean says it took three trips, each of around two to three hours with a couple of people working on the clear up at a time to get the area back to normal.

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“We had to use pulleys to get down the steep bank and bring everything back up. It was a lot of work.”

Beulah added: “In a world where we can choose to be whatever we want to be, Dean has chosen to be selfless and conscientious and that’s something to be celebrated.”

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