Residents have been urged to report anyone they see fly-tipping on a street which a councillor says has become a dumping ground for rubbish.

Councillor Shaukat Hussain says there is a growing problem of refuse and commercial waste accumulating on Cedar Street in Blackburn.

And he’s worried that if the issue continues, the area will become infested with rats.

He said: “There’s been fly-tipping going on here for a few months.

“There’s carpet and rubble and other bits.

“It looks like people have been refurbishing houses and just dumping their rubbish here.”

He added: “The council has cleaned it up several times but it keeps coming back.

“It’s a mess and of course, the more it’s there, the more other people will think they can leave stuff there.

“I’m worried that if it carries on, we’ll get a problem with rats there.”

Cedar Street is a residential road of terraced houses close to the shops on Whalley New Road.

Cllr Hussain is a representative of the Bastwell ward which covers the street.

He said: “I want people to be responsible for their area, but also as it keeps happening, someone must see what’s going on, so I want people to report anyone they see fly-tipping there.”

Research has shown that one in 12 people in the north of England admit to illegally dumping their unwanted waste One in five don’t realise they are actually breaking the law.

The maximum fine for fly-tipping now stands at £95,000, and government figures show cases of illegal rubbish dumping have risen by 20 per cent in the past year, with nearly two-thirds of these cases involving household waste.

A spokesperson for Blackburn with Darwen Council said: “We’ve had several reports of waste being dumped on Cedar Street recently, all of which have been investigated and removed.

“We’ve only had one report relating to pest control, which has also been dealt with.”

By Michael Morrison