Two days after an accident involving a motorbike that caught fire as it was being ridden along Birkirkara Road in St Julian’s on Saturday morning, the remnants of the machine had not been cleared up by yesterday evening.

The Malta Independent contacted St Julian’s mayor Peter Bonello, who said the local council knew nothing about the accident but added that it could be that the remains of the motorbike will have to be removed by the police if an investigation into the incident has been opened.

Local residents who witnessed the accident said the motorcyclist had to get off his bike as it suddenly caught fire and damaged three cars in the process, so this was definitely not an arson attack.

As for who exactly was responsible for cleaning up the machine’s remains, this newspaper found that, in

theory, only the Cleansing Services Department was responsible for tidying up arterial roads.

However, in abnormal circumstances, when some problem is encountered with the local council with regard to the tidying up and cleaning of residential roads that fall under its (the council’s) remit, the Cleansing Services Department does intervene.

As this newspaper reaches the newsstands on Tuesday morning, if parts of the motorcycle have still not been cleared up, more than 72 hours will have passed from the time when the incident occurred.

It makes you wonder what form of red tape is going to delay the process further this time…