MATTRESSES, piles of dog mess and rotting food are being regularly dumped behind a strip of empty houses.

Huncoat councillor Dave Parkins is calling for investigations and prosecutions over the repeated fly-tipping.

The dumpings are leading to Hyndburn Council’s environmental team being called out every few months to deal with mounds of rubbish between Edgar Street and Walter Street, according to Coun Parkins.

He described a stretch of land and an alleyway between the two streets as a ‘health hazard’.

Because several homes next to the alleyway are empty, with a dozen occupied, fly-tippers can often operate in the area unseen.

Empty yards in particular have been filled with bags of rubbish for some time unreported.

Coun Parkins said: “I feel so sorry for the hard working tax payers who have to put up with this, just because some of the houses are empty.

“I have seen recycling tubs filled to the brim with dog muck and just stacked up in empty yards.

“There are mattresses and bags of rotting food and dog muck strewn everywhere in between.

“It is nothing less than a health hazard.

“When the cleansing team go out, they do an absolutely cracking job on the clear up but we cannot continue to clean up after people indefinitely. It just isn’t fair to the tax payer.

“I do think the council should pull out all the stops to make sure people are prosecuted so we can put an end to this.

“They have already checked bags for mail and addresses but not found anything.

“Investigating it will be tricky, but it has to be done.”

Leader of Hyndburn Council, Miles Parkinson, said they would be tackling the issue with dog wardens and in partnership with neighbourhood police officers.

He said: “This is an issue we would have to tackle on a few fronts.

“We can ask our dog wardens to be vigilant and we can also bring the neighbourhood police officers because they have resources such as surveillance vans.

“It’s about bringing all the different organisations together. We would also urge residents to be vigilant and contact us if they see anything unusual.”

Residents can report fly tipping and dog fouling concerns to 01254 388 111.