A BLACKBURN bakery has called for greater help from the council after litterbugs dumped bags of rubbish outside their store.

Tracy Livesey, who co-owns Leavers Bakery in Bolton Road, Ewood, said the fly-tipping had attracted maggots and flies and had put customers off entering the shop.

Blackburn with Darwen Council said it would seek to clear the rubbish as soon as possible.

Mrs Livesey and her business partner, David Leaver, said they had complained about the state of the back alley four times to the authority’s environmental health and refuse teams, but the problem had not been tackled.

She said: “It looks like a tip. It’s been going on for quite a while and we don’t know who is responsible.

“We pay hundreds of pounds a year to have our rubbish collected but we’re full to the brim and don’t have the funds to collect any more, especially when it’s not ours.

“It’s riddled with maggots and last Tuesday morning alone we had to kill 40 flies outside the shop door. When you’re in the shop you can’t actually see it but it’s annoying and not good for trade.”

The bakery, directly opposite Blackburn Rovers’ Ewood Park stadium, scored four out of five for its hygiene standards after its last inspection in December 2012.

Mrs Livesey said she even highlighted the problem face-to-face when environmental officers made a routine visit to the shop a fortnight ago.

Councillor Jim Smith, executive member for environment, said: “As a council, we aim to ensure our borough is kept clean, and those who dump rubbish are prosecuted, named and shamed in the press. We will investigate this report and take action to get this rubbish removed from the area.”