Contact the Telegraph
Send us your news tips, photos and videos Text LT and your message to 80360 or click here for more ways to contact us »
REGISTER NOW TO POST YOUR COMMENTS ON THESE STORIES
It's free and only takes a few seconds. Click here to go to the registration page.
Blackburn with Darwen Council bosses get tough over phone pest
4:11pm Friday 18th April 2008
Comments (22)
A DISABLED man has been warned that he faces five years in jail if he keeps bombarding his town hall with phone calls.
Council bosses issued the get-tough message to Robert Bullough after saying he had ignored every single effort and request to stop.
Bullough, 59, of Warmden Gardens, Blackburn, was given a two-year Anti-Social Behaviour Order this week after making more than 10,000 phone calls to Blackburn with Darwen Council in four months.
Blackburn magistrates were told that the dispute started 18 months ago with a complaint against the council's adult social services department, which Bullough was successful with.
But he continued to complain about the standard of care he was receiving..
Council bosses have told Robert Bullough they had no option but to request the measure, which prevents him from phoning the council except in an emergency and visiting the town hall without an appointment.
The council's head of customer services George Campling said Mr Bullough had: Reduced staff to tears with "threats and abuse"
Used his car to block the car park of Capita's Castleway House headquarters Blocked an emergency out of hours phone line for four hours on Friday evening, demanding to speak to the chief executive Written up to five letters a day to the council and its partner Capita.
Mr Bullough could face an unlimited fine or five years in prison and an unlimited fine if he breached the order, Mr Campling said.
He added: "He has ignored every single request to stop and ignored the system we put in place to help him, leaving us no choice but to resort to legal action.
"We were pleased the judge saw fit to grant the order and hope Mr Bullough takes heed of the possible consequences of failing to comply.
"We welcome residents contacting the council with genuine requests, queries and indeed complaints but Mr Bullough's behaviour has been totally unacceptable."
Following the court case, Mr Bullough said he would stop contacting the council and claimed he had been ignored when he tried to raise a complaint about the social services care he received.
Your Say YourLancashire Telegraph
mike rigby, blackburn says...
5:17pm Fri 18 Apr 08
This selfish and silly man is a public nuisance with little concern for others.
He needs to grow up.
Sense of proportion,, Up Here says...
7:21pm Fri 18 Apr 08
Real dangerous and persistent criminals of all kinds are in front of our courts every day, and what do they get? Either suspended sentence of a few monts or in really horrific cases they might actually get jailed fo 3 or 4 years and let out in half that. This old guy with an obvious obsession that needs treatment gets told he faces an unlimited fine or 5 years in jail? What the hell is that all about.
It is time some of these stupid old judges were put away or put-down might be better.
removals R me, my front room says...
11:48pm Fri 18 Apr 08
any justice, outhere says...
10:23am Sat 19 Apr 08
D, says...
12:45pm Sat 19 Apr 08
drjim cavet, christie hospital manchester says...
7:28pm Sat 19 Apr 08
quotethis man as monthly chemotherapy and was given 7 years to live in 2004
egghead, accrington says...
9:33pm Sat 19 Apr 08
drjim cavet wrote:well whys he spending his last few years ringin the council?
quotethis man as monthly chemotherapy and was given 7 years to live in 2004
surely you'd do something abit more adventurous
Jeremy Pender, Market Weighton, East Riding of Yorkshire says...
1:03pm Sun 20 Apr 08
com/group/brysonland
/message/314 was accepted at both http://www.lancashir
etelegraph.co.uk/new
s/blackburn/headline
s/display.var.220545
8.0.phone_pest_bomba
rded_blackburn_with_
darwen_council_with_
10_000_calls_in_four
_months.php and http://www.lancashir
etelegraph.co.uk/new
s/blackburn/headline
s/display.var.220854
6.0.blackburn_with_d
arwen_council_bosses
_get_tough_over_phon
e_pest.php. I'm copying this message to Andrew Turner (lt_editorial@lancas
hire.newsquest.co.uk
) and Paul Cockerton (pcockerton@lancashi
re.newsquest.co.uk) at Newsquest, the Lancashire Telegraph's publisher, to see if they'd be kind enough to tell us why they do things this way. It can't be "to save disk space", or they'd surely have got rid of the earlier page altogether.
Dave, Burnley, says...
1:34pm Sun 20 Apr 08
any justice wrote:Er, hate to break it to you matey but your comments haven't been deleted. They are on the original story about the case! This one was posted a day later. Click on the 'related link' above!
So much for freedom of speech Ive noted my previous comments have been removed no doubt reported from some one who works for a Council. If that person is reading this whats up did I hit a raw nerve over the truth that a lot of folk employed by Councils are generally the least productive and have better terms of conditions in pay and leave entitlement? This is what the UK has become over the years it started in the 70s Censorship, Censorship, Censorship. I reinstate my Ex worked for Burnley Council she was one of the most laziest and corrupt people I have ever known.
John Wood, Dalston, London says...
1:41pm Sun 20 Apr 08
etelegraph.co.uk/new
s/blackburn/headline
s/display.var.220545
8.0.phone_pest_bomba
rded_blackburn_with_
darwen_council_with_
10_000_calls_in_four
_months.php. Go figure!
Jeremy Pender, Market Weighton, East Riding of Yorkshire says...
2:24pm Sun 20 Apr 08
etelegraph.co.uk/new
s/headlines/display.
var.2208546.0.blackb
urn_with_darwen_coun
cil_bosses_get_tough
_over_phone_pest.php
, and the other's http://www.lancashir
etelegraph.co.uk/new
s/blackburn/headline
s/display.var.220854
6.0.blackburn_with_d
arwen_council_bosses
_get_tough_over_phon
e_pest.php, but the actual content's the same. Anyway, if visitors to either of those pages care to see my notes after my call to Bob Bullough's father yesterday, they'll have to go to either http://www.lancashir
etelegraph.co.uk/new
s/blackburn/headline
s/display.var.220545
8.0.phone_pest_bomba
rded_blackburn_with_
darwen_council_with_
10_000_calls_in_four
_months.php or http://groups.yahoo.
com/group/brysonland
/message/314.
Nick Ulrich, Highgate, London says...
2:36pm Sun 20 Apr 08
____________________
__
I've just got off the phone after speaking to Bob Bullough's father. I'd called him to ask if he thought there was anything any of us could do to help sort out the mess Bob seems to have got himself into. Harry said we shouldn't worry too much and that Bob's "all right". I wonder! Anyway, none of the news coverage I've seen so far has satisfactorily explained what went wrong in the first place, and I'm sure there were things Bob would much rather have been doing than phoning his council! I'm posting a link to this webpage at one of my Yahoo! groups -- http://groups.yahoo.
com/group/brysonland -- and anyone who feels like joining in on a proper investigation of what's gone wrong here is welcome to get in touch. Just email brysonland@yahoogrou
ps.com, and we'll take it from there. G'day, everyone.
Jeremy Pender, Market Weighton, East Riding of Yorkshire says...
3:08pm Sun 20 Apr 08
laura, mars, says...
1:34am Mon 21 Apr 08
drjim cavet wrote:isn't that a breach of confidentiality???
quotethis man as monthly chemotherapy and was given 7 years to live in 2004
Jeremy Pender, Market Weighton, East Riding of Yorkshire says...
4:53am Mon 21 Apr 08
com/group/brysonland
. Come on over and join us!
dave, blackburn crematoriun says...
8:08am Mon 21 Apr 08
stooball66, blackburn says...
8:56am Mon 21 Apr 08
2.If he has a omplaint about his poll tax(ha ha)then he should be given a sensible answer,if the morons at B. BURN council cant give him a answer then he has the right to carry on complaining .
One has to remember that this council has been labour run by Asians for years so what can you expect?
AGAIN I ASK WHICH PERSON IS IT WHO IS UPSET ??????? I CAN GUESS BUT DONT WANT TO BE CALLED RACIST
LOL
dave, crematorium blackburn says...
11:51am Mon 21 Apr 08
Ermmmm, Blackburn says...
3:59pm Mon 21 Apr 08
Crank Caller, Outer Space says...
7:11am Tue 22 Apr 08
dear oh dear, says...
9:36am Tue 22 Apr 08
If we didn't pay the "poll tax" (last heard of about 15 years ago!) - commonly known as Council Tax this century - there would be no schools, no police force, no fire service, no social services, no street cleaners, no bin men, no new houses, no traffic lights etc etc etc etc.
If you really think that these services provide nothing, then you are naive and ridiculous beyond all belief.
LEGAL ACTION: Robert Bullough
In this section
- Burnley firms secures £850,000 museum contract
- Nelson drugs minder ordered to repay £30,000
- Clitheroe cinema stalwart dies, aged 81
- East Lancashire star Diana Vickers lands West End role
- Traders want increased police patrols in Nelson
- Barlick police call for public backing to shut down 'party houses'
- Chorley councillor's ‘Asian bullies’ e-mail probe
- Man charged after armed raid at Blackburn jewellers
- Council bosses accused of 'killing' Blackburn festivals
- Blackburn teen needs emergency op for brain tumour
Sponsored Links
Local advertisers
Local Information
Enter your postcode, town or place name
jcb, says...
5:01pm Fri 18 Apr 08