A BACK alley in Blackburn had been turned into an unsightly health hazard.

This photo, taken on February 6, 1980, shows the tip, which was just a few feet from the backyard of pensioners Walter Hope and his wife Annie in between Charlotte and Inkerman Street.

It contained black plastic bags full of rotting vegetable peels, large empty drums of cooking oil, tin cans and the usual assortment of old furniture, a cast off strike and a broken TV set.

Mr Hope was one of several residents who claimed that the rubbish had been piling up for the past two months, despite calls to the council.

The 78-year-old said: "I have heard about other unofficial tips but this must be the worst and biggest of all.

"It all started after a family was evicted about three months ago for not paying the rent.

"The landlord put some rubbish out in the street and people have kept adding to it.

"Women come along at night and dump stuff, but you can't catch them at it.

"I have lived here over 50 years and I have never known anything like it."

At the time public services director Leo Seed admitted that there was a problem with unofficial tipping in the area and made a promise to residents saying: "I'll see to it right away."