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# Police clear litter from Hawthorn Drive basketball court
- URL: https://www.ipswich.co.uk/police-clear-litter-from-hawthorn-drive-basketball-court/
- Published: 2024-11-20T07:57:20.000Z
- Updated: 2026-03-16T15:29:52.000Z
- Description: Officers on patrol collected three bags of rubbish, including empty vodka bottles and cider cans, from Hawthorn Drive basketball court in south-west Ipswich on Sunday.
- Author: Oliver Rouane-Williams
- Tags: News, Policing, Public Spaces, #article, Suffolk Constabulary, #Import 2026-03-16 14:46

**The big picture:** The incident highlights ongoing challenges maintaining safe and clean community sports facilities for residents.

![Empty vodka bottles, cider cans, soft drink containers and plastic cups were strewn across the floor of Hawthorne Drive basketball court in Ipswich](https://storage.ghost.io/c/29/1e/291e4b7f-e551-4458-b546-61963954b22f/content/images/2026/03/1732063213-rubbish-on-floor-at-hawthorne-drive-basketball-court-ipswich.jpg)

Empty vodka bottles, cider cans, soft drink containers and plastic cups were strewn across the floor of the court (Suffolk Constabulary )

**What happened:** Police officers found empty vodka bottles, cider cans, soft drink containers and plastic cups while patrolling near the Hawthorn Drive basketball courts.

- Officers filled three bags with discarded items
- The clean-up helped ensure safer use of the community facility

**What they're saying:** "PC 1613 and PC 1831 have cleaned up the rubbish to ensure that they can be used safely by the local community," an Ipswich Police spokesperson said.

![An Ipswich police officer with three evidence bags of rubbish after the clean-up at Hawthorne Drive basketball court in Ipswich](https://storage.ghost.io/c/29/1e/291e4b7f-e551-4458-b546-61963954b22f/content/images/2026/03/1732063217-police-with-rubbish-bags-at-hawthorne-drive-basketball-court-in-ipswich-1.jpg)

The officer looks pleased following the clean-up (Suffolk Constabulary )

**The bottom line:** The incident shows how community facilities can be affected by the thoughtless actions of a small minority.

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