Outrage over huge pile of dumped rubbish near Bridgnorth

Furious residents sifted through mounds of rubbish to try and find the culprit of a large fly tip down a country lane near Bridgnorth.

Shropshire Councillor Dave Tremellen and resident Lisa Hill go and investigate

Piles of plastic, cardboard, piping and other waste materials were dumped down Netherton Lane in Highley sometime over the weekend before a farmer spotted and reported the "disgusting mess" on Sunday.

The remnants of a shop-front sign were also left and residents that put the pieces together believe it came from a hardware store in Birmingham.

Shropshire Councillor for Highley, Councillor Dave Tremellen, said it was an issue affecting every part of the county.

Shropshire Councillor Dave Tremellen and resident Lisa Hill investigate the rubbish dumped at Netherton Lane, Highley

"We've had a couple in this particular location and the farmer phoned me up as soon as he saw it on Sunday and I reported it straight away," he said.

"But of course these incident are so frequent and widespread it's difficult for Shropshire Council to get round them all.

"I know someone went out there and rummaged through it to put all the pieces of the jigsaw together and it looks like it's from a hardware store.

"These incidents are covering the whole of Shropshire and it's been going on for so long.

"The problem is when rubbish is dumped in a farmer's field it becomes their responsibility and if it's on a road it usually blocks their way – the farmers can't win."

Councillor Tremellen posted the fly tip on Facebook appealing for information and said the "disgusting mess" is believed to have been dumped sometime overnight on Saturday.

Residents were quick to criticise the culprit. One user said: "What a disgrace, hope you get a result." Another posted: "There's no pride, this is shocking." And another labelled it "absolutely disgusting".

Hazardous

Councillor Steve Davenport, cabinet member for highways and transport said: "Shropshire Council is aware of the fly-tip and have reported the issue to our contractors to remove it as soon as possible.

"We had received a number of customer enquiries about the situation and we would like to thank local residents for their vigilance.

"Fly-tipping costs us a huge amount every year, is unnecessary and is hazardous to people and the environment.

"Shropshire Council will continue to pursue any wrongdoers wherever possible.

"We can't comment to at this stage if there is enough evidence to prosecute the perpetrators. If there is enough evidence we will notify the police to take the appropriate actions."