A RETIRED engineer who launched a one-man crusade against fly-tippers has been banned from his local tip - for taking too much rubbish.

The decision to bar Idwal Williams from Whinney Hill recycling centre, Altham, was today slammed by the Green Party, which said councils should use more common sense.

But Lancashire county council said staff believed the 64-year-old was disposing of commercial waste.

Mr Williams decided to take action after his fed-up landlord refused to move any more of the household waste repeatedly dumped next to garages off Barnes Street, Clayton-le-Moors.

But when Hyndburn Council said it would charge to remove the rubbish, as it was on private land, he decided to do the job himself.

Mr Williams, who is registered as disabled and has breathing difficulties, loaded the rubbish onto a trailer.

But on his fourth visit to Whinney Hill the site manager told him he was barred because he did not believe all the rubbish was his.

Mr Williams, of Exchange Street, Accrington, said: "He didn't believe me but it was only household waste, not from a business or industry, so I can't see what the problem was.

"It is ridiculous. I am just trying to do my bit for the environment, and to keep the garages clean, but now they won't even let me dispose of the rubbish safely and properly."

Mr Williams and the other 31 garage owners are now having to pay £400 to have the large amounts of abandoned household refuse taken away.

Chopped up trees, broken beds and sacks of other junk have all been left on a grassed area at the edge of the buildings.

Last week almost 30 bags of rubbish were dumped, some of which contained personal letters addressed to an Accrington house. Mr Williams has passed them onto Hyndburn Council, hoping that it will use the information to catch the fly-tippers. Enforcement officers from Hyndburn are currently investigating the matter.

Mr Williams said: "I can't believe what people chuck away here. The site is supposed to be locked up, but sometimes people forget to close the gate. It must take the fly-tippers some effort, especially when they could just go down the tip. We have even seen people coming up here in vans and dumping rubbish.

"It is costing us money to be tidy. It is a joke."

Graham McIver, Lancashire spokesman for the Green Party, said: "This is wrong. Both councils should be speaking to each other to resolve this situation and use common sense and let this man clear the land."

Coun Janet Storey, of Clayton-le-Moors ward, said: "It can be difficult for staff at the tip to distinguish if you are a member of the public or a trade customer. But this seems to be a gentleman doing a good turn and it would be a shame if he can no longer take his rubbish there."

A spokesman for Lancashire County Council, responsible for Whinney Hill, said: "If staff believe that a member of the public is not bringing household waste, they are able to request that the person leaves the site.

"This would only be to ensure that commercial waste is not left at waste centres which are only provided for household waste."

He added that an official decision to permanently ban someone from the site would only be taken in extreme cases.