ARSONISTS who set fire to tonnes of rubbish dumped in Hyndburn have been branded ‘morons’ by residents.

Firefighters said the huge piles of waste in Altham Lane, Huncoat, were set alight at around 12.30pm on Sunday.

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As reported in the Lancashire Telegraph around 30 lorry loads of waste was flytipped on the Park Royal Haulage site last week.

Community leaders now fear area could become a hotspot for antisocial behaviour and the blaze on Sunday could be the first of many.

Dave Parkin, a former Huncoat councillor, said setting fire to the rubbish is extremely dangerous as no one knows what lies beneath the mounds of waste.

He said: “Seeing the piles of rubbish made me feel incredibly annoyed as its ruined the site.

“Now there’s people setting fire to it, they’re complete morons.

“It’s so dangerous to set something on fire when you have no idea what it is, there could be flammable liquid in there and it could all go up in flames so quickly.

“It could become a troubled spot if it’s not removed, it could be the first of many.

“But where would we put all the rubbish? There’s so much of it, it’s going to be difficult to disperse it.

“I feel sorry for those who will have to clear it away, they shouldn’t have to do it.”

It is estimated hundreds of tonnes of waste was dumped.

The site between Huncoat, Hapton and Altham, which is used for bus and lorry driver training, is kept securely fenced and gated.

CJ McManus, commercial director of Park Royal Haulage, said at the time of the incident: “The tipping has been organised.

“It is appalling and was probably done at night over the weekend.

“This is a major dumping of rubbish, 30 to 40 lorry loads, which could be several tonnes each.

“They sawed the padlocks of the gates of the land which is leased to North Lancs Road Transport Training.”

The Environment Agency is investigating where the waste has come from and a spokesman said it was working closely with Hyndburn Council and police to deliver a permanent solution to the problem.

A fire service spokesman said: “On arrival, the flames were difficult to locate due to the incredible large amounts of rubbish.

“There is an assumption that the fire was started deliberately.”