Police crackdown on supermarket cart collector

By Melissa Grant
TROLLEY angel Kevin Lia is out of action after police ordered his iconic ride-on mower off the road.
Mr Lia had been rescuing shopping trolleys from Pakenham’s reserves and waterways for five years, before police delivered the bad news two months ago.
Police say Mr Lia’s ride-on mower poses a safety risk to other road users and officers had briefed him on the issue.
The ban could spell the end of the 77-year-old’s community-minded service – he says collecting trolleys will be difficult without his trusty ride-on.
“I can go out with my big vehicle and big trailer but it’s very awkward,” Mr Lia said. “You can’t get down to the creek and the drains.”
Mr Lia said the ban on his mower, dubbed “red rocket”, was a case of bureaucracy gone mad.
“In those five years I’ve never had one person complain,” he said. “Usually I’m aware if I’m going slowly and there’s traffic behind me – I’ll pull over out of the way.”
Mr Lia said he still remembered the day police knocked on his door.
“The police were good, they came to the house, nothing nasty, and said we can’t allow you to do it any more,” he said. “I was real down on myself for a while.
“A lot of people ring up wanting their trolleys picked up. It’s been a real setback to me.”
Mr Lia was collecting between 20 and 50 shopping trolleys a week before his ride-on was sidelined.
Mr Lia, who has diabetes, only returned this week from a brief stint in hospital, but is determined to push on.
“I don’t really know what I’m going to do. I’ll let things cool down for a while. I’ve got it in the back of my mind that I want to keep going. I have a walker now … I said to my wife the other day I think I’ll hook up a few trailers behind me,” he laughed.
Mr Lia’s wife Phyllis also hoped he would continue his trolley crusade.
“He would pick up rubbish – he did other things as he was going around,” she said.
Mr Lia said he hadn’t ruled out purchasing a small tractor to assist him in his trolley rescue duties.