Action call on rubbish in Tividale alleyway

Sofas, fridges, mattresses and even a gambling machine are among the items which have been dumped in an alleyway off Tividale Road in Tividale over the past month.

It is usually used to store and move household rubbish.

Fed-up householders whose homes back onto the route near Barnett Street are now calling for action to catch those responsible for dumping the waste as well as helping to clear up the alleyway so they can use it again.

Local businessman, Gaz Khan has lived in the same street for nearly 30 years and has led the calls for something to be done.

He said: "In the last few weeks we have started to see items dumped in the alley way and it's just getting worse and worse every day.

"We are scared there will be problems with pests if it's left and there are families accusing each other which creates ill feeling amongst the close knit community in the street."

As well as being used to take out their rubbish, the alleyway is also used by dog walkers and as a shortcut between roads in the area.

"It's only a matter of time until someone gets hurt," added Mr Khan, aged 33. "You just can't tell what dangers lay underneath the rubbish."

The alleyway already has a gate but Mr Kahn said that sometimes people forget to shut it and that as a result on occasions it has been left open for an entire day, allowing people to gain access to the site.

He said he had spoken to the council's environment officers who said they would be looking in to the problem, but couldn't take action against anyone without sufficient proof.

Councillor Mahboob Hussain, cabinet member for town and neighbourhood services and councillor for the ward said the authority had done what it could to improve the site but added that it was not responsible for the land.

He said: "We as a council have already installed gates and cleared up this area before. It is owned by those people who live there and is their responsibility."

He also urged residents in the area who may know who is responsible for flytipping to come forward.

And he said: "We have already completed some investigations that show much of the rubbish comes from homes and businesses in the area. If people are aware of who's dumping the waste they need to let our officers know and we may take action against them."

Between September 2012 and February 2013 there were 2,106 fly-tipping reports in Sandwell.

Council chiefs in the borough set up a special litter line, which has received up to 220 calls a day on average.

Other sites targeted in the borough include land in Wednesbury and West Bromwich where a crackdown on the issue was launched last year.

Police officers scoured the streets to check for dumped rubbish.

Latest figures show there were 745 flytipping reports across Dudley in 2011/12. And last year residents in the borough were threatened with fines after council bosses claimed they were illegally dumping rubbish outside recycling bins across Dudley.