'We are being swamped': Rubbish piles up in one Blackburn neighbourhood

There have also been calls for the recycling centres to fully reopen without appointments to prevent rubbish being piled in Blackburn streets and alleyways.

Pictures taken by the Lancashire Telegraph this week show one neighbourhood being swamped by bin bags and household rubbish which is being discarded late at night. Blackburn with Darwen Council said it would be investigating the latest incidents and continued to urge people to report any fly tipping.

In the Griffin area of town on Rodney Street and Hardman Street a section was cleared this week only for mountains of rubbish to return. 

One woman who lives on Hardman Street is blighted by an unsightly mound of rubbish right in front of her property. Some has been there for six months and when some is removed more is added daily.

She said: “The council only came on Monday and cleared some of this rubbish and within two days someone has come and dumped more rubbish here.

“Some people are coming in cars and vans while others are walking. This has been like this for six months. People need to be more responsible.

“I think with the recycling centres being closed has made things a lot worse.”

Some of the rubbish off Hardman Street has been there for months. Some was removed only for more to be dumped here last week

Another resident who lives nearby said: “We are being swamped by rubbish. It is shocking the amount of rubbish there is around here.”

He told of another alleyway with an overflowing skip which was full of rubbish.

One resident said they were shocked when they opened their doors, “You just don’t know what you are going to find. There was a Home Bargains trolley with rubbish in it which was discarded here.

“It is disgusting, there are no other words for what people do. It started to get pretty bad from September last year.”

Behind Hardman Street and below (below) in an alleyway behind Rodney Street (Pictures LT)

The area around Hardman Street is due for demolition but is still occupied by many householders. Some are alley-gated but others are not due to plans for redevelopment.

Official advice states that ‘it is not essential to provide an official statement when reporting fly-tipping but a statement is very useful and on conviction the fine is up to £50,000 or six months imprisonment or both’.

Another house owner on Sandon Street said waste was being dumped near his property. The council had cleared the area but a broken alley gate was allowing further fly-tipping to take place.

(Picture sent in by reader)

Speaking to the Lancashire Telegraph, the home owner, who did not wish to be named, said: “I own a house in Sandon Street. I have made numerous complaints about fly-tipping and a pathway adjacent to my property. 

“I have mentioned about medication bottles, glass, needles, fly-tipping, food waste and much more. 

“They have called and removed a little bit from the bottom of the path but left all of the dangerous waste. The rest of this particular area is a haven for fly-tipping. Only two blocks away there is a pile of black bags, easily over 20 bags.”

Recycling centres are open but people have to book ahead online to make an appointment. A council spokesperson said: “Our household waste recycling centres are open and we currently offer residents of the borough over 3,400 booking slots each week. 

“Our officers will always do their best to respond to reports of rubbish dumping or fly-tipping and we have recently been in this area to remove previously reported fly-tipping. We will be investigating these latest incidents.”