Call to shop fly-tip menaces

As part of The Deal, the local authority is calling on the public to help it stamp out this illegal, ugly and costly scourge.

There has certainly been no relenting in the number of incidents coming to light.

Evening Post reader Andy Naughton informed reporters that a patient’s medication had been ditched on the grass verge in Fisher Close, Worsley Mesnes, along with another mound of rubbish which has been there for months.

He posted on the Wigan Today Facebook page: “Just imagine the damage that could do, if a child consumed them. It doesn’t bear thinking about, does it?”

And a big pile of rubbish, including discarded clothes and kitchenware, has been dumped nearby, in scrubland off Worsley Mesnes Avenue, Worsley Mesnes, while a brown leather sofa and chair has been abandoned on land in Botany Close, New Springs.

There have been other reports of trolleys dumped in the stream in Worsley Mesnes, as well as litter on waste ground in Whelley.

A spokesman for Wigan Council warned that anyone caught fly-tipping will be prosecuted.

Karl Battersby, director for economy and environment at Wigan Council, said: “A key aim of The Deal is to encourage residents to take pride in their area, recycle more and recycle right, and we would always encourage people to dispose of their unwanted products in the correct way.

“Residents can either visit one of our Household Recycling Centres where you can dispose of a wide range of unwanted household products, or use the bulky goods collection service.

“Our teams will investigate all reports of flytipping, and we will seek to prosecute any offenders.

“If convicted there is a maximum penalty of up to £50,000 with the possibility of a 12-month prison sentence. Not only is fly-tipping illegal, but it also blights communities and makes the borough a less pleasant place to live.

“We recognise that the vast majority of residents dispose of their rubbish in a responsible way, but a small minority don’t, and last year dealing with fly-tipping cost the council more than £168,000.

“We would always urge residents whose lives are blighted by this nuisance to report it to us by going online at wwww.wigan.gov.uk to the report it section or downloading our Report “It app to your Android or iPhone which allows you to report it on the spot with photographs.”

The council is also supporting the national Clean for the Queen initiative in March, where residents are asked to all do their bit and help us keep the area clean.

Residents can get involved and sign up at www.cleanforthequeen.co.uk.