Woman's relief as tonnes of dumped waste cleared from drive

Janet Atkins said discovering the dump and then trying to get it cleared had been "upsetting"

A woman who found tonnes of waste dumped outside her home said its removal was "a huge relief".

Janet Atkins, from Warwick Bridge, near Carlisle, woke to discover the "rubbish mountain" blocking her driveway on 17 August.

It was removed by National Highways on Tuesday and an investigation into the fly-tipping continues.

National Highways said she would not be expected to pay for its disposal as "a gesture of goodwill".

Janet woke up to find "about eight hills" of debris which included plastic bags, nappies and bits of plastic, metal and cardboard amongst the detritus.

As it had been left on her driveway she had been unable to use her car to get to work.

She said resolving the situation had been "really difficult" and the worry of having to pay for the clear-up has caused her to lose sleep.

"There are multiple agencies involved because part of it was on my land and part of it was on land owned and managed by National Highways."

Janet said she had spent hours on the phone trying to find a way of getting the waste cleared

She was previously quoted about £10,000 for removing the waste, with the Environment Agency stating the cost of clearing it fell to her.

However, she has since been informed that she will not have to pay anything towards the removal and disposal of the rubbish.

"It's a huge relief. It's actually hard to know what emotion you feel," she told the BBC.

"It got cleared, so that was a big shift for myself and my neighbours.

"The financial thing is literally an enormous relief".

Ben Dobson, the National Highways manager for the A69, said: "We can confirm that we, and our contractor Road Link, have arranged for the removal and safe disposal of the waste dumped on the A69 layby and the landowner's adjoining property.

"As a gesture of goodwill, on this specific occasion, the resident will not see any of the costs of this removal."