Seven-year-old Darcey helps dad clear fly-tipped tyres out of Fort Borckhurst moat

A YOUNG boy and his dad have fished more than 20 tyres out of Fort Brockhurst’s moat after they were dumped there by fly-tippers.
By Neil Fatkin
Published 15th Jul 2020, 21:40 BST
Updated 16th Jul 2020, 09:18 BST
Dan Harbut, 32, retrieved 20 tyres from Fort Brockhurst moat.Dan Harbut, 32, retrieved 20 tyres from Fort Brockhurst moat.
Dan Harbut, 32, retrieved 20 tyres from Fort Brockhurst moat.

Both keen wildlife enthusiasts, the thoughtful father and son had been made aware of the discarded tyres from a social media post by a local wildlife group.

The Gosport beauty spot, owned by English Heritage, is often used by people looking to spot wildlife or enjoy nature walks.

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Having recently been taking photographs of swan cygnets, seven-year-old Darcey Harbut was concerned about wildlife being trapped by the dumped tyres.

Darcey Harbut, seven, stacked the retrieved tyres. Darcey was concerned wildlife could become trapped.Darcey Harbut, seven, stacked the retrieved tyres. Darcey was concerned wildlife could become trapped.
Darcey Harbut, seven, stacked the retrieved tyres. Darcey was concerned wildlife could become trapped.

Darcey, seven, said: ‘It is a really bad thing to do. I am please we got the tyres out as I was worried the wildlife could get hurt.’

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His dad Dan Harbut, 32, added: ‘It is such a scenic place and I just can’t believe anyone would just dump the tyres like that.

‘As well as not looking very nice there is also the danger of wildlife getting stuck.

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‘We had just been down there to get photographs of the baby swans.

‘Once I saw what had happened with the tyres I decided to take my van down and get them out of the moat.’

Retrieving the tyres from the steep sided moat was not straight forward with Dan having to use his towbar to attach a rope and lower himself down into the water.

Dan said: ‘I used a shovel to hook the tyres and threw them up to Darcey who piled them up next to the van.’

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As well as retrieving the tyres the duo fished out litter which could also endanger birds and other wildlife.

Darcey added: ‘I am really proud of my dad but I wish people would just put their rubbish in the bin.’

After initially storing the tyres in the back of his van, Dan was contacted by a lady on Facebook who said she could make use of the tyres for a school initiative.

‘The lady said she was going to use the tyres to house plants as part of a school garden project,’ said Dan.

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