To think the bloke who told me off for taking grit out of the grit bin should fuck off

[Birdbox181]

This morning, I had to get my elderly neighbour to a hospital appointment. She has bone cancer in both hips. Her drive way was very slippery this morning. A fall for her could be fatal. She's on crutches.

I drove to the nearest grit bin I could find, filled a bag for life, probably a quarter full and put it down on her front door step, drive way and the pavement outside her property.

As I was putting it into my bag a bloke stopped and reprimanded me, telling me it's not for private use. I explained the situation and but he wasn't interested.

What an absolute cock.

Round here grit for private use is available from our recycling centre, two bags per road or close. You just have to register and collect. And then it replenishes again

YABU as it's not for private property use BUT in the circumstances you are fully right to have used it as you did.

Everyone should have bags of grit/salt to use on their driveways as required.

@Birdbox181 YA ABSOLUTELY NOT BU. Yes, there's certainly a valid argument that it's only for use on public highways (not private driveways) but these were exceptional circumstances and you were desperate in a one-off situation. And OK, so the man didn't know why you were taking it when he stopped, but for him to lecture you after you'd explained the exceptional circumstances makes it clear he was, indeed, a sanctimonious, judgemental dick-head - and it seems there's a few of his ilk on this thread.
Keep smiling OP - you went out of your way (literally!) to help a terminally ill woman get to an important hospital appointment and those who don't understand this imperative really need to give their heads a wobble. (I bet if they were on the receiving end of such kindness and effort they'd have nothing but praise and gratitude for you.)💖

Strictly speaking my understanding is that the grit is for communal use areas roads and pavemenrs and not for private drives and gardens.

I would have told him exactly what the intended use was and told him to fuck off to the far side of fuck using those exact words if he thought I was doing anything wrong.

We did have a msg from the parish council on our village FB reminding residents that the bins are not for general use, because if they are empty then there's nothing left for the public areas that the PC have responsibility for maintaining (or that the DC provide the village the means to do so).
It was probably in response to a few chancers filling up wheelbarrows rather than a single resident helping a neighbour out.

I do think if they are not for public use then there should be a sign on them.

The OP is already on it Yes, I'm going to order some off amazon, just for her to keep in her front porch for next time. She's only going out for hospital appointments now so chances are the freeze will be gone by her next one, still handy to have available though.

A lot of elderly people won't have grit because, like this lady, they just don't risk going outside in freezing conditions.
And younger, fitter people don't because they can manage on their own drives and paths fine without.

Do many people keep their own bag of grit?

You did a very nice thing OP. Ignore him

I'd guarantee that had a burly bloke taken the grit, he wouldn't have objected.

I've never seen public grit bins but we have one on our steep hill which is an unadopted road and residents pay for the grit. Therefore would be a bit narked at someone driving to our road and taking some away.

Is he the local self-appointed council representative?

After explaining the reason you were taking it (which is more than I’d have given him), if he kept it up, I’d have just ignored him.

My alternative reply would’ve been to tell him to fuck off, but he’d probably call the police. 😁

Of course it's for public use. As if you'd choose to drive miles to a grit bin when there was one within metres. Tell him to take it up with the council as it's not an ideal situation for you.
It's true it's not to use on private land but that's not what you were doing.
He was obviously having a very bad day or was just a terminal dickhead. I guess there could have been people en masse emptying the bins for private use leaving him stranded at one point but that's a matter between him and the council.

There are no grit bins local to us in an ex-council area the nearest one is in the private estate and they have complained about people taking grit from that bin if they aren't from "the village" as they call it. We have asked for a grit bin but the council say it is the factors responsibility and the factor says it is the councils responsibility. The one is the private estate is was put in by the council.
Our street is like an ice rink in this kind of weather and almost impossible to get in and out at times, its never gritted and the paths are treacherous last week I ended up buying two bags of salt from the local shop that were 2 quid each just to make the path safe.

That is so sensible!

My road is flat, and isn’t an issue. The pavements are treacherous though.

My last house was on a hill and we really needed the grit box at the top. You could scatter it across the brow of the hill and the vehicles spread it down the road for you.

Presumably the aim of the grit is to stop people from slipping and injuring themselves. You used it for that purpose. Seems sensible to me.

People who police stuff like this often cause more harm than good.

Gandalf of the Gritbin

Some responses here I feel are a provocation. People want to release anger that way. That bloke’s lecture is also from an angry place. Hope you forget all this soon. It’s not 100% legal, that’s true, but any reasonable man would do the same as you did.

I've occasionally wondered if the grit bins were there for storage or for people living locally to grit their own neighbourhoods - well now I know!

Although I appreciate the annoyance and danger to others of people simply swinging by and emptying grit bins, that wasn't what the OP did. She took a small amount for something very specific; ie to de-ice a driveway for an elderly neighbour who is seriously ill. She then drives the lady to hospital for an appointment. Ideally, she or her neighbour would have their own supply of grit; ideally, we'd all be paragons of preparation and foresight, but we are where we are. The OP says she'll order some grit so next time, they'll have what they need. In the meantime, the neighbour gets to her appointment without injury. It's really hard to castigate the OP, and I say that as an overthinking worry-wart who hates breaking rules.

Did you read the part where i said I understood why she did it, and it was understandable?

No, obviously not. So sod off.

We and all our neighbours do. I thought it was normal to? That said we live on the side of a hill and all have long steep drives which can be treacherous in the freezing weather, and the grit bin wouldn't hold enough to grit all the drives. Plus the location of the grit bin is on the corner of steep road - so we really need the council supplied grit for this.

Every winter, someone on the street WhatsApp group will pop up and gently remind everyone of this and provide links to get grit. People club together and buy it here bulk too from time to time.

So normal for us, maybe not normal for everyone. But presumably people who need it realise that they need to buy it?

This is our councils instruction on it:

The grit provided is for use to clear public pavements and roads only. It is not for use on private property.

If you are caught taking grit or salt for use on private property, such as driveways, you may be prosecuted.

I wouldn't have a problem for OP taking it for the reason she did personally, but it seems our local grit bins are strategically placed on big hills which aren't bus routes (we've got one at the end of the street), so the residents can use it to keep the paths and roads clear, that road also has two schools on it.

I would have thought it was pretty obvious that it wasn't for people to use for themselves.. if everyone did it then no one would be able to clear the pavements on the slope, but I can't imagine myself getting so worked up about it to berate someone, but maybe he lives locally and is fed up of people doing it instead of buying it themselves (it is readily available everywhere at this time of year in fairness).

Not unreasonable at all and I bet he wouldnt have had a go at you if you'd been another bloke. Funny that.

We live on a small estate of about 70 houses which is a cul de sac, off a main road. You have to drive down a steepish slope which gets really icy to join the main road, which is always treated in bad weather. We have council grit bins at either side of the junction so we, as residents, can salt the junction ourselves and therefore get out of the cul de sac and join the main road. Except we can’t because cheeky fuckers take the salt from the grit bins for personal use and then there isn’t enough left to allow 100+ cars to get out onto the road, so we are effectively stranded, even when we can see from our front windows that the main road is clear.

So I can see why he said something - I would have, too.

are you happy about the people who end up with falls and broken limbs as a result of your or your neighbours drive being ok?

Depends on whether those people are likely to die as a result of a broken limb doesn’t it ? OP didn’t say she used it on her own drive, you’ve made that up. Her neighbour has a serious, life threatening condition and this was a one off - I doubt the council would have a problem with it if she’d asked.

Op carry on with your business. You are doing a good job and anyone who would have a go at you needs telling no. He probably didn’t want to back down out of embarrassment, because anyone who thinks you are doing wrong has no heart.