Families fuming as fly-tippers dump 60ft mountain of garbage on residential avenue

Homeowners are fuming after fly-tippers turned their road into a “public tip” with a 60ft mountain of rubbish. The residents of Dalkieth Street in Birchills, Walsall, West Mids, have been forced to watch the monstrous pile of waste fester and expand over several years.

Now, they’re battling a rat infestation and can’t even open their windows without the stench of “toxic” rubbish burning day and night.

Shocking snaps reveal the rubbish strewn across footpaths, with one corner of the street completely swamped by a sea of garbage stretching a whopping 20 metres. Locals have contacted Walsall Council repeatedly for three years as the eyesore heap has only got bigger.

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But as soon as some of the mess is cleared, a fresh mound pops up the next day. The rubbish has piled up outside a derelict building, once the bustling A1 Furniture, a textile and furniture workshop.

Lynne Perkins, a gran-of-two aged 51 who lives nearby, said: “You just can’t comprehend how bad it is around here.

“My neighbour living directly next to it has children and it cannot be safe for them. It’s a health hazard.

“The furniture place has been closed for years but a couple of people have rented out the building since.

“…It just became a fly-tipping hotspot and now it’s pretty much used as a public tip in the middle of the street.

“Rubbish was being burned on a daily basis too. Some of it was toxic and you couldn’t open your windows.

“I am embarrassed to have my children and grandkids around because you can barely step foot out in the street.”

She added: “I speak to the council on a weekly basis about it. Court action is finally being taken, apparently, but it’s taken nearly a year of constant complaints.

“It should not have taken this long. It’s like living in a war-torn country. Its making me physically and mentally ill – I’m absolutely shot, its been hell.

“The new tenant seems to be trying to sort it out – but as soon as a bit of rubbish gets cleared, another tip van comes along and dumps more.

“I want to be proud of my country and my street where I’ve brought up three children and lived for 27 years – but I’m utterly ashamed.”

Another local Russell Dale, 44, added: “It feels like you’re living in the middle of a public dump – it’s absolutely rank and it stinks.”

He added: “It’s just lawless around here now. The police and council don’t really want to know. You cannot believe this is 21st Century Britain.”

Walsall Council issued one enforcement notice relating to the site addressed to AL11 Properties Ltd and two others addressed to individuals both registered as directors for the company.

The order demands the removal of all accumulations of controlled waste, including white goods and waste that could harbor or attract vermin, waste which is potentially dangerous, and any waste having a “detrimental” effect on the visual appearance of the area.

The actions must be carried out before 11:59 pm this Friday (29/11).

If the notice is ignored and the mess remains, AL11 Properties Ltd could be prosecuted and convicted of a criminal offence.

Earlier this year, the company had been granted permission by Walsall Council’s planning officers to build a two-storey extension at the site.

The extension was to form a wider project of redeveloping the derelict factory building which has fallen victim to vandalism over time.

A caravan is nestled in the waste at the rear of the factory, where the extension is due to be built.

Its current owner, who would only give his name as Ali, 35, said: “We’re getting penalised for something we’ve not done.

“We’ve cleared the site earlier this year as there was dumping.

“We’re waiting for the council to allow us to do something with the property, it’s been three years.

“We were getting it cleared up about three months ago, but someone has turned it into a dump again.

“And it’s costing us £18,000 to get it cleared. We’re having to pay all of this out of our own pockets.

“This is the third time it’s been severely fly-tipped. We’ve secured it to make sure the council knows it’s secured, but someone has opened it all up and fly-tipped.

He added: “It’s household rubbish, all sorts of rubbish. We’re the dumping ground for Walsall, it’s ridiculous.

“We asked the council if we can use the local tip and their trucks, if they can help us and we can pay for the labour and petrol, but the council rejected it.

“We’ve owned it for the past three years. It’s taken us three years to get planning permission.

“We have no room to remove anything. They want us to remove this which is really unfair.

“It’s local people doing it, I don’t live in the area. It takes us an hour and a half to get here, but it’s happened three times this year. There’s no support from the council.

“It’s not my rubbish, it’s on the road. I shouldn’t be responsible for something that’s been fly-tipped on the road. It’s been bad for our company.

“The council won’t do anything about it but we’ve cleared the mess out each time.”

Walsall Council has been asked to comment.