BUSINESS owners are furious over piles of rubbish which have been dumped in a back alley.

Household kitchen waste, sofas, mattresses and clothes have been left in an alleyway behind Burnley Road, Accrington, and left to build up.

Vermin, including rats, have been spotted in the rubbish and people have complained it left a ‘horrible smell’ in the area after the spell of the hot weather last weekend and the Bank Holiday weekend earlier this month.

The site, which is thought to be on private land, is situated near flats, houses, retail stores and Jump Works trampoline park – which is used daily by families and young children aged from two and above.

Hair salon owner Lorraine Street, who runs the nearby business Halo Hair Design, said the issue has been ongoing for the last five years but the problem had worsened over the past eight weeks.

She said she felt Hyndburn Council, enforcement officers and binmen have been ignoring the ‘distressing’ problem.

The 50-year-old mother said: “Something has to be done. It’s horrible and quite distressing.

"The trampoline park is trying to attract people out of the town and this is something you can see from up the road.

"I wouldn’t want to take my family round to see this mess.”

Jump Parks duty manager Paul Fox, who works at the trampoline park adjacent to the alleyway, said workers have had to shift the ‘vermin’ and clean up some of the mess themselves.

He said: “Most people do not see it but we work here all the time and it’s quite bad. We have seen vermin and rats and had to shift it ourselves.

“The problem has got to a whole new level over the last couple of weeks and has become very smelly now the hot weather has come out.”

Cllr Joyce Plummer, who represents the area, said she reported the rubbish to the council after she saw pictures of fly-tipping posted on social media earlier this week.

She said: “It’s a problem in Peel ward and I do not know why people do it.

“We have bins, a tip and a free service that picks up household waste and I feel sorry for the residents that have to put up with it. It’s unacceptable.”

Cllr Plummer said she had been told the council had spoken to the landowner who had promised to clear up the rubbish.