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VIDEO: “Reckless” contractor spotted hanging out of moving van to spray weeds

An investigation has been launched after a contractor was spotted hanging out of a moving truck to spray weeds.

Footage of the “reckless” behaviour was captured in Fyvie, and shows a worker reaching out the window to spray weedkiller as the van moves along the road.

Aberdeenshire Council is now checking to see if the culprits were council contractors, or an agency.

And the Health and Safety Executive is also aware of the incident, with officers raising it with the local authority.

Turriff man Mike Rawlins recorded the film while his wife drove along behind the truck, and said he was shocked at their behaviour.

“I found it a bit strange,” he said.

“We were driving into Fyvie for something and this van put its hazard lights on. A guy then started hanging out of the passenger window and was waving that wand around spraying weed killer.

“Locally, there has been complaints about weed killer being sprayed willy-nilly and causing the grass to grow further back. It strikes me that this might be one of the reasons for that.

“As far as the guy in the passenger seat being legal and compliant, I would doubt it.

“There have been a lot of people commenting about how dangerous it was. I have no doubt that the chemicals being used are safe, but I do wonder about the guy hanging out of the window.”

Online, one person described the incident as “endangering” to the public and called for the council to cancel the firm’s contract if it had employed them.

“That is what most folk would want to see happen,” he said.

Another branded the workers “lazy”.

Banff and Buchan MP David Duguid, who lives nearby, added: “I think most people watching this video would consider this reckless behaviour.

“There are a number of safety issues here – not least the fact that this worker is hanging out of a moving vehicle.

“I am sure that Aberdeenshire Council hold their staff and contractors to a higher standard and will be investigating this incident as a matter of urgency.”

The Health and Safety Executive yesterday said it had contacted the local authority about the film for answers.

A spokeswoman said: “We can confirm we have brought this to the attention of Aberdeenshire Council’s safety department.”

A spokesman for the council agreed that the work carried out by the men in the footage was not “acceptable”.

He said: “We have seen the footage and are currently investigating whether it involves a council contractor or another agency.

“We take pride in the high quality of service provided in Aberdeenshire and would not consider this an acceptable method of tackling weeds.”

Between April and May this year the local authority has spent £1,047,167 on hiring outside contractors to carry out work for its environmental services team.

It is not known how much of this was spent on clearing weeds.