Alan goes ‘above and beyond’ to tidy Thame ‘grot spot’

A Thame retailer praised the town’s street cleaner for ‘going the extra mile’ this week, after he cleaned and weeded the whole of a narrow passage way in the town, above and beyond his designated duties.

Alan Tipping, pictured during Thame Carnival procession last June

Sally Dickinson, who runs What’s Cooking in Cornmarket, Thame, was concerned about the untidiness of Pump Lane, that runs from her shop through to Brothers Hair Salon in the Buttermarket. Whilst discussing the problem with Alan Tipping, Thame’s popular street cleaner, she was surprised to learn that Alan had been told that Pump Lane wasn’t part of his area as it is not a designated ‘highway’.

However, after a visit to the town hall and phone calls to Oxfordshire County County and South Oxfordshire District Council, as well as Biffa, Sally was able to discover that Pump Lane can be designated as highway and, despite not having been given the official go-ahead by his Manager, Alan spent two hours of his own time making Pump Lane ‘spick and span’ !

Once again, Alan has proven to be worthy of his Service to the Town award, presented to him in 2012, by the then Mayor of Thame, Nigel Champken Woods.