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• • Abandoned and Untaxed Cars
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  • Make Your Garden Safe!
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• New Waste Scheme
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• Waste Minimisation

Make Your Garden Safe!

General

• Plan work ahead so that you don't have to rush or take dangerous shortcuts.
• Make time for breaks - tiredness makes your careless.
• Leave the garden tidy.
• Keep paths safe by repairing uneven slabs and broken concrete and clearing mud and moss.
• Keep tools, hosepipes, wheelbarrows, watering cans and cables tidy.
• Site barbeques away from wooden fences and sheds.
• Never use petrol or paraffin on barbeques.
• Keep children away from barbeques.
• Always ensure that barbeques are completely extinguished after use.

Equipment

• Choose the correct tools for the job - seek advice if necessary.
• Keep equipment in good condition.
• Where necessary, protect your sight with safety glasses.
• Use the correct safety gear if you have to use a chainsaw....Is a chainsaw really necessary for the job that you have to do? would another saw do?
• Wear stout shoes and gloves.
• Lock sheds and garages to keep children out.
• Make sure that the ladder base is on firm, even ground.
• Position ladders so that the base is one foot out for every four foot vertically.
• Do not over-reach or over-balance on ladders.

Electrical

• Keep trailing leads away from moving blades when using electric mowers.
• Always use a residual current device (RCD) to help protect you from the risk of an electric shock.
• Check all plugs, wiring and controls for damage and wear before you start.
• Do not try to repair damaged cables - get them replaced.
• Always switch off and unplug electrical tools before making adjustments, cleaning or checking for damage.
• Keep electrical tools dry when in use or in storage.

Children

• Keep chemicals, e.g. weedkillers and insecticides out of the reach of children.
• Do not store chemicals in containers other than those designed to store them.
• Ensure that play equipment is firmly fixed.
• Keep swings away from glass, trees and bushes.
• Before buying new plants check whether they are poisonous or cause allergies.
• Check fences and gates regularly to ensure that any damage is repaired and gates are kepts shut.
• The recommended height for fencing to prevent children from running out is 1200mm (4ft.) with gaps impenetrable by a 100mm (4ins.) sphere.

For further information please contact:
Environmental Health on 01276 707344 or emailenvironmental.health@sureryheath.gov.uk