Three men pushing buggies containing scrap have been stopped by police officers as authorities crack down on bin raiders.

Last night, officers on patrol stopped a man pushing a buggy on May Road, Gillingham. When questioned, the man said he had got the pushchair from a front garden.

The officers returned to the property with the man, and although the occupants said he could keep the pushchair, they seized it as the man did not have a waste carriers license.

Two more men with pushchairs were stopped separately on Nelson Road and Canterbury Street this morning by officers on patrol.

They were not able to say where they had got the pushchairs from as they did not have waste carriers licenses, they items were seized.

All three men were advised that they could not collect waste without a license. The incidents have been reported to Medway Council.

The crack down from the police and Medway Council follows a petition set up by Sallyann Briggs from Chatham.

The petition gained more than 1,500 signatures and led to a meeting between residents, police officers and local politicians.

Mrs Briggs who works as a nurse manager said: “The meeting was a great success. They can now see that a lot of people are upset with what’s happening and they’re going to do a lot more to support us.”

A spokesman for Medway Neighbourhood Watch Association said bin raiding did seem to be a problem in certain areas of the Medway Towns.

Areas frequently targeted include the Barnsole Road part of Gillingham as well as Luton and Wayfield in Chatham.