Vermin concerns as fly-tipping piled up

By timesecholife on in All News, Featured News

Nappies, food and furniture dumped near flats in a Moorlands village have been cleared after seven weeks. Bags of waste were ditched in Blythe Bridge in April and remained uncollected throughout May - the sunniest month on record. The rubbish attracted vermin, posing a hazard to residents and preventing children from playing nearby.

Nappies, food and furniture dumped near flats in a Moorlands village have been cleared after seven weeks.

Bags of waste were ditched in Blythe Bridge in April and remained uncollected throughout May – the sunniest month on record.

The rubbish attracted vermin, posing a hazard to residents and preventing children from playing nearby.

Bin bags containing household waste have been left several times in the communal bin store of the flats in Ridgeway Drive which are managed by Stafford and Rural Homes (SARH).

Residents raised concerns and reported the fly-tipping issue to Stafford Borough Council (SBC).

Tina Bouanba lives in the block with her nine-year-old son, Amir.

She said: “These flats were prioritised for families with children. We don’t have an area for children to play, my son sometimes plays out with his basketball at the side of our flat, but the rubbish is attracting vermin – you can see where they have ripped the bags, so he doesn’t really go out much now.

“Around seven weeks ago, bags started appearing again, mainly household rubbish, including food and nappies.

“They had just been dumped in the bin area and as time has gone on, more has appeared, bits of furniture, an old pushchair, bird cage and a television unit.”

In recent weeks, Tina has reported the issue to both SARH and Stafford Borough Council, but the rubbish was still there on the morning of Monday, June 1. It has now been removed.

Councillor Jonathan Price, Cabinet Member for Environment said: “We have a zero-tolerance approach to fly-tipping. Anyone who is caught can expect to be fined or prosecuted – as we have demonstrated recently.

“Our residents are rightly outraged when they see people treating our towns and villages as a dumping ground.”

Jan Goode, Executive Director at Neighbourhoods at Housing Plus Group, which includes SARH, said: “All households are responsible for the disposal of their own refuse, in line with local authority processes, and the vast majority of our customers act sensibly and follow those rules.

“As in this case, we occasionally have reports of excess refuse building up around communal bins and when this happens we work closely with the local authority to resolve the issue.”

National trade body, the British Pest Control Association (BPCA), issued a warning to householders about disposing of waste correctly during the Covid-19 crisis.

Technical manager at the BPCA Dee Ward-Thompson said: “Rotting left-overs or half-empty food containers will attract many unwanted visitors if they’re not discarded carefully or if bin lids are not closed properly.

“Bin bags are even more of an issue as they’re basically a mobile home for rats – a warm natural environment with food and water supplied.

“The link between piles of uncollected bin bags and pests is clear.

“More rubbish, particularly food, supports the emergence of pests, particularly rodent infestations.

“It’s not just a matter of nuisance, but a public health issue. Pests like rats, flies and urban foxes feed on the leftovers in our bins.

“Our members are still out doing emergency work such as protecting homes and businesses.

“The last thing the country needs right now is a plague of rats alongside the pandemic.”

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