'Nightmare': Walsall mountain of rubbish can be seen on Google Earth

Residents living on Haley Street, in Short Heath, said they have had to put up with the terrible sight on the Arrow Industrial Estate for several years and are “fed up” with having to see the eyesore every day.

The pile continues to grow, with items including metal, furniture, children’s toys and general waste being dumped there.

People and ward councillors who have been trying to help address the problem were given good news when Walsall Council served an enforcement notice on the land owners on February 25.

This requires the site to be cleared by the end of May but the owners have lodged an appeal with the planning inspectorate in a bid to get more time to rectify the issue.

Resident Michael Aston said: “I’m over here very often feeding the ducks, so to see that is terrible. I feel for the people who live right next to it who open their windows and have to see that first thing in the morning.

“In the summer, you get a bit of a smell off it as well, it is ridiculous. We all know each other in this street but to have to deal with that on a daily basis is totally undesirable.

“If people want to walk along the canal or sell their house on this street, they’ve got that to deal with, having someone’s rubbish dumped on your doorstep.

“You see the odd rat going across there. It’s been there quite a while and is part of the view now but we’re fed up of it.”

Another resident, Wayne Phillips, said: “It’s been an absolute nightmare. It’s been there a couple of years and it’s got worse and worse. Nothing’s been done.

“Now, what we are looking at is the summer is coming, spring is coming, so we will get rats again, the smell will come back like it was before.

“There are a lot of kids on this street as well, so to have to wake up to that every morning is unacceptable. Someone needs to take a bit of ownership really.”

Councillors in the area praised residents for their patience and support, and added that despite the appeal potentially delaying the clear up, they were pleased to see action being taken.

Councillor Sarah-Jane Cooper said: “We have been working on this issue for some time but we are very pleased to see that enforcement action is finally being taken against the occupiers of this site.

“The conditions nearby residents were forced to live with were completely unacceptable.”

Councillor Josh Whitehouse added: “It’s great that action is finally being taken on Straight Road. The legalities of this case have delayed action and residents have been extremely patient in waiting to get to this point. We are very glad of the end result.”

Local Conservative campaigner Amandeep Garcha also said: “I’m sure everyone will be pleased to see this enforcement action being taken following our campaign to clear the site.

“The nearby residents have been extremely patient and have had to endure this for quite some time. We can’t wait to see this blight on the area gone from our town.”