AN experiment to see if attitudes and civic pride were influenced by a campaign to highlight litter-strewn hotspots in Barrow has turned up some surprising results.

Last Wednesday, Barrow's binmen invited The Mail out on their rounds in the town centre to illustrate the level of fly-tipping in the days leading up to wheelie bin day.

One particular hotspot was a small, gated section of back alley behind Ramsden Street and Storey Square, close to School Street.

Readers and residents alike were left horrified at our video which showed piles of dirty nappies, mouldy food waste and litter which could easily have been recycled spread across the backstreet.

FCC Environment, which carries out household waste collections and street cleansing in Barrow, arranged for a cage truck to visit the alley and as you can see from our 'before' picture above - it was left absolutely spotless.

The test was to see whether or not it would last. And a week later, just before bins are due to be emptied again, it would appear the message is starting to sink in that everyone - residents, the council and FCC, has to play their part in keeping Barrow clean.

A visit to the backstreet today (Tuesday) revealed the alley had retained its spotless sheen - not a single piece of litter and red recycling bins placed neatly outside backyards.

Barrow Borough Council has also been taking enforcement action against those believed to be responsible for some of the worst fly-tipping grotspots.

Nic Christofides, from the Streetcare team, said all properties backing onto the section of gated alley behind Ramsden Street had been sent letters reminding them of what they can and can't do with their household waste.

More significantly, it is understood that crucial evidence which was retrieved has resulted in one resident being issued with a notice which could result in them paying a fine of hundreds of pounds.

Meanwhile, progress and improvements have also been noted in the beleaguered Garden Waste Club, which attracted fierce criticism from the outset with missed collections despite residents paying £35 a year for the service.

Barrow resident David McKeever said: "Pleased to report FCC Environment just emptied my brown bin on the date specified and brought the bin back down the drive with a cheery wave."

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/amyfentonNWEM">@amyfentonNWEM</a> V pleased 2 report <a href="https://twitter.com/FCC_Environment">@FCC_Environment</a> just emptied brown bin on date specified, + brought bin back down drive with cheery wave</p>— david mckeever (@admckeever) <a href="https://twitter.com/admckeever/status/894884248062234625">August 8, 2017</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

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