Fly-tipping on estate at 'horrendous' level

There is concern that it is unsafe for children to play near abandoned fridges

Residents of an estate have said the level of fly-tipping in their area is "horrendous".

Items regularly dumped on streets and alleys in Grove Hill in Middlesbrough, include fridges, sofas, mattresses and bags of waste.

Although the items are eventually removed, residents said it was "back to square one" within days and feared the area was unsafe for children to play.

Middlesbrough Council urged people to report all incidents so it could take "appropriate action".

One resident said her mobility scooter tyres had been punctured by glass

An alley behind Thorndyke Avenue was highlighted as a particular hotspot.

Resident Michelle Milne, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that she had to navigate the rubbish on her mobility scooter and its tyres had been repeatedly punctured by broken glass.

She said: “It’s terrible, it’s always been like that.

"I’m sick of it. Not just me, everybody. It’s horrible.”

She said she did not let her three grandchildren into the alley to play.

Another resident described the situation as "very, very dangerous", because of piles of glass.

“There’s always fires round there," another resident said.

The fire brigade has attended a number of small fires during the summer holidays

Ward councillor Joan McTigue said there had been alley gates, but they had “disappeared overnight”.

She said: “I’ve seen children playing in fridge freezers, they hide in them sometimes.

“It could be nice. It could be a safe area for children to play in away from the road.”

She added: “I don’t know whether to push like mad to have these things cleaned up every day or so, or just think to myself 'well what’s the point, it’ll be like that again tomorrow'.

“I don’t know how to solve the problem."

A Middlesbrough Council spokesman said: “Fly-tipping is selfish, irresponsible and unnecessary, and causes untold and costly damage to whole communities.

"We encourage members of the public to report all incidents to us so we can take the appropriate action and, where possible, prosecute those responsible.”