Selfish fly-tippers wreck Wigan bride's big day

A councillor has hit out at selfish fly-tippers who have turned a car park into an eyesore and left taxpayers to fork out for the cleaning bills.
The fly-tipping in PembertonThe fly-tipping in Pemberton
The fly-tipping in Pemberton

Coun Jeanette Prescott says Wigan Council cleansing staff have been called to the open space off Fleet Street in Pemberton around 10 times this year at direct cost to the public purse.

An enormous array of unwanted goods, including mattresses, pillows, huge piles of children’s toys and electrical goods have been left at the back of the row of shops.

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There is a clothes bank there for disposing of items to be reused but Coun Prescott says that when it is full or people want to get rid of things it cannot take they simply drop it on the floor and walk away.

The problem has even spoiled the big day of a happy couple tying the knot as a mound of rubbish could be seen in wedding photos taken at nearby St John’s Church.

Coun Prescott is now desperately appealing to those responsible to stop and hopes anyone with information will come forward and let the town hall know.

She said: “This has been going on for a long time. There has always been an issue but it has now got so bad.

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“We’ve had mattresses, chairs, TVs and all sorts dumped there and I’ve had to have it all taken away. People aren’t reading the labels on the recycling bin properly and when they want to dump something they just seem to stick it there.

“It clearly says the recycling bin can’t take quilts or pillows because they don’t fit but people are bringing them and then just throwing them on the floor and leaving them anyway.

“There was a wedding at the church a few weeks ago and all this stuff was in the photos.

“It’s a real shame. There are a few charity shops in Pemberton which could make use of some of this stuff but because it’s just left on the floor to get dirty it all has to be binned.

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“It has been really bad since Christmas and over the months I must have rung cleansing 10 times.”

Coun Prescott has spoken to organisation Bag It Up to request a second clothes bank for the location, but admits this will only help if people recycle correctly.

The town hall issued a strongly-worded statement condemning the irresponsible behaviour.

Kat Armitage, assistant director for environment, said: “Fly-tipping is a blight on our communities and costs us money to clean up.

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“By residents not fly-tipping and recycling their waste correctly we can keep council tax low.

“It is a drain on public resources to keep returning to a site to clear up fly-tipping and we do take action in hotspots such as these to tackle ongoing issues. Our environmental enforcement team is currently investigating this incident.

“We will continue to work with the community in the area to see if we can stop this unacceptable behaviour and where offenders are caught, enforcement action where appropriate will be taken.”

To report an incident of environmental crime such as fly tipping or dog fouling visit www.wigan.gov.uk/reportit or download the council’s Report It app.