Dead animals 'dumped near stream' by fly-tippers

Yorkshire Water said people are driving to the rural location and throwing rubbish down a steep embankment

Dead animals and household waste are among the items being dumped near a stream in West Yorkshire by people fly-tipping.

The site, which is an isolated spot alongside Nab Water, near Oxenhope, has seen an increase in rubbish being left there in recent months.

Yorkshire Water said it had taken steps to prevent rubbish going into the stream but more needed to be done.

It has submitted an application to build a fence to deter the fly-tippers.

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It told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the rubbish was not thought to have caused any contamination so far.

Sheep heads

The rubbish, which has been dumped there since May, includes multiple sheep heads, 30 goose carcasses, soiled nappies and more than 100 bags of household waste, Yorkshire Water said.

The company has applied to Bradford Council for planning permission to install a 100m (328ft) section of fencing separating Nab Water Lane and the stream. The fence would be 2.4m (8ft) high.

Deborah Feldhaus, head of Water Quality and Production at Yorkshire Water, said: "The area has had issues with fly-tipping for some time but this has escalated recently with more waste than normal being dumped and we have concerns this could impact the water going into the beck in future.

"We've been working with Bradford Council to find a solution and we hope the higher fencing will deter people from discarding waste in future."

Rebecca Poulsen, Conservative councillor for Worth Valley, said the situation had worsened over lockdown when household recycling centres were closed.

A decision from the council regarding the planning permission is due in December.

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