Outrage as bags of rotting food dumped on traffic island in protest

Dozens of bags of rotting food and other items of household waste were abandoned on the island in Abney Avenue, Albrighton, after a waste collection service failed to show up at the weekend.

Some residents were so angry that they were threatening to push the mound into the road, blocking the traffic. Gill Ginyer, whose house overlooks the island, said the heap had continued to grow over the past few days as people turned the area into a dumping ground.

She said: "It's terrible. It has been there since Saturday.

"There is food in there and all sorts, and with the warm weather we are going to have rats."

The 51-year-old former nurse added: "I rang the council and they said they have received a number of calls, and they would get it sorted.

"Some of the neighbours have said they are going to push it all onto the road to stop the traffic."

Chairman of Albrighton Parish Council, David Beechey, said a waste disposal vehicle failed to show up on Saturday. He said he had been in touch with Shropshire County Council, which had agreed to remove the waste today. He hit out at the people who had dumped the rubbish, saying it was nothing other than a criminal act.

"It seems that when the contractor didn't turn up, people just dumped all their rubbish on the road, understandably enraging the residents of Abney Vvenue," he said

"It's nothing more than illegal fly-tipping. You would have thought that they would have had the common sense to realise that when the contractor did not show up, they would have to take their rubbish back with them, but instead they just dumped it."

The dumped rubbish comes just days after a senior councillor warned how fly-tipping could be set to increase in Wolverhampton after council bosses reduced the opening hours of its two main tips.