FED up bin men have spoken out against the menace of fly-tipping which is preventing them from doing their job.

Just weeks after council bosses vowed to crack down on fly-tippers yet another Barrow street has come to resemble a landfill.

Over the past week, a smelly pile of rubbish standing nearly five feet high has accumulated in the alley behind Manchester Street, close to the town centre.

Council refuse collectors have spoken of their annoyance towards fly-tippers whose thoughtless attitude make it harder for them to go about their jobs.

One worker, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "It's happened to us a couple of times. It's hard to pass it (in the wagon) when we're doing our job."

As the bin men tried to go about their collection route they were forced to negotiate their wagon through the half-blocked alley.

The truck had to pass over pieces of broken furniture, unwanted toys, dozens of bin bags and pieces of splintered wood and jagged metal.

The worker continued: "I think people should get fined. They are dumping anything in the back streets. They just dump it and wait for the town hall to come and deal with it."

During the Christmas period, there was outrage from the community as a particularly foul festive tradition resumed. Just days after Christmas mountains of rubbish were dumped at recycling collection points across Barrow.

Residents were quick to criticise those responsible for the mess, which attracted vermin and flocks of seagulls.

In the early morning of December 28 council workers came out in force to clean up the town, and began gathering evidence to catch those responsible.

Alan Barker, streetcare manager for Barrow Borough Council, said work was ongoing to clamp down on the dozens of festive fly-tippers and to keep the town tidy.

He said: "The answer I can give is that we are going through the processes.

"The cases are being processed and will be assessed on their own merits."

Mr Barker said the council was aware of the recent fly-tipping in the Manchester Street alley, and yesterday (Friday) officers were dispatched to make inquiries.

However, he stressed the process of gathering enough evidence to prosecute was time consuming and results would not happen over night.

He said: "We are looking to uphold the law and we will prosecute people where possible. We have to investigate the incident then we have to do an interview under caution which takes officer time; present the case to our legal people who then prepare the case for court."

Mr Barker added: "The trouble is people don't realise what their duty of care is. Residents believe it is the duty of the council to clear up the mess they make.

"Our duty is to clear the waste given to us at the prescribed time in the prescribed container.

"Sometimes we have to issue fines and make court appearances to get the point across."