Two friends have condemned mess and rubbish littering the back alleys of where they live as ‘absolutely shocking and unacceptable’.

On Monday, Yasin Shafi and his friend Awais Javid were walking through the streets of Bank Hall in Burnley and couldn’t believe what they saw.

There were piles of bin bags, cardboard and rotten food, along with washing machines, sofas and beds, strewn in alleyways.

Mr Shafi, who lives in Ormerod Road said: “This is absolutely shocking and unacceptable.

“It’s becoming too common. And this mess isn’t just behind one street - it’s on most of the alleyways in Bank Hall.

“We walked round and I think we saw one, maybe two alleys that were clean.”

The friends called upon Councillor Afrasiab Anwar, who represents Bank Hall, to highlight the problem to the council so they could see just what residents are faced with.

Mr Shafi added: “Councillor Anwar has been very helpful and always listens to our concerns, but the council needs to do more and I don’t mean by only making sure the streets are cleaner, they need to hand out bigger fines.

“People need to be punished; it’s like they have no pride in where they live. It’s disgusting.”

Cllr Anwar said he was lost for words when Mr Shafi and Mr Javid showed him photos of the mess.

He said: “This is something that’s been a long standing problem in our ward and other wards across the borough.

“It’s everyone’s responsibility not just the council’s.

“And everyone has their own role to play.

“The people going round collecting the rubbish are sometimes leaving more of a mess rather than less, and some residents are not presenting their rubbish correctly either – they’re not educated on how to dispose of their waste.

“The fly-tipping is bad as well.”

Cllr Anwar said the inconsiderate behaviour of some residents who aren’t respecting their community is unfair on those who have lived in the area for 40 or 50 years and take pride in where they live.

He added: “I feel sorry for those residents who do it by the book and pay for items to be taken away.

“The council need to be tougher with the sanctions. They need to be enough of a deterrent to stop people from doing this.

“As councillors, we need to be more active in our wards.”