BARROW has declared way on fly-tippers with council bosses today launching a "crusade" to catch those responsible for the mountains of rubbish dumped over Christmas.

Towering piles of tonnes of foul-smelling binbags, empty boxes, Christmas dinner leftovers and household waste have left recycling points and car parks across Barrow resembling landfill sites.

In what has sadly become a foul festive tradition in Furness, some impatient residents have found themselves unable to wait just two days until the tip opens or at most an extra two working days until their wheelie bins are collected.

Tesco Extra in Hindpool Road; Asda in Walney Road; Tesco Metro in Flass Lane; Morrisons in The Strand and the Park Leisure Centre are the worst-hit. Piles of waste have also been left in Newton Road in Dalton, next to the cemetery.

Despite larger containers being left at the sites to accommodate for the yearly clear-out, warning signs stating rubbish must not be left if the bins are full have been ignored.

Seagulls and other vermin have been spotted at some of the fly-tipping hotspots. Strong winds over Christmas have resulted in much of the rubbish being blown onto roads and residential estates.

Clean and community-spirited residents have been vociferous in their criticism of their fly-tipping counterparts, with many labelling them as "filthy", "disgusting" and "vile creatures".

Karen Blezard said: "I can't believe people actually go to the effort of loading their car, taking it to the recycling centre and then just dumping it. Leave it at home; it's only a couple of days until the binmen are back on their rounds."

Others were simply horrified and called for those responsible to be named and shamed.

"It's disgusting, the people of Barrow should be ashamed of themselves," said Laura Todd.

Carly Magee described it as "absolute laziness".

She added: "Why would you keep dumping stuff when it looks like that? Especially with the wind we've had past few days it's going to end up all over the town.

"It only takes each to look after their own and we wouldn't have this problem. Have a bit of pride in yourself, your home and your surroundings."

As of first thing this morning, binmen and street sweepers will be out in force in a bid to clean up the town but council bosses have said "enough is enough" and have already started gathering evidence in order to bring those responsible to justice.

Thankfully, the additional collections won't involve any extra expenditure by the council and will be undertaken as part of the overall contract cost.


Alan Barker "People seem to think they have some God-given right to dump their rubbish wherever they want," said Alan Barker, Barrow Borough Council's streetcare manager.

"It won't be tolerated and we will take action against anyone found to be responsible. We have CCTV in the areas targeted and we will be looking for evidence within the waste which has been dumped."

For those thinking they will not be caught, Mr Barker's promises are backed up by statistics.

Latest official figures show that around 98 per cent of fly-tippers are eventually prosecuted.

They face an unlimited fine and a maximum of five years in prison although the vast majority of offences are dealt with by way of a fine between £150 and £500 in the magistrates' court.

Last year, council enforcement officers at one hotspot in Barrow caught 28 fly-tippers red-handed on Boxing Day alone. Some of the discarded bags even included clinical waste such as colostomy bags and feeding tubes.

"From first thing, we will be out in force clearing up this mess and our enforcement officers will be fighting the crusade," Mr Barker added.

"I'd also like to reassure residents that we do take this incredibly seriously. It is very annoying for those who take pride in themselves and where they live; it makes you sick."

Wheelie bin collection dates in Barrow will be a day or two later than normal until Monday January 9.

If your bin was due to be collected today, it will be emptied on Friday. Collections normally due on Thursday or Friday will be emptied on Saturday and subsequent collections a day later than normal until Monday January 9 when services revert back to typical collection dates.

The household waste recycling centre in Walney Road, will only be closed on Sunday January 1. Otherwise the tip is open from 8am until 6pm seven days a week.

FLY-TIPPING: THE FACTS

98 - the percentage of fly-tippers who end up being caught

40 - one in every 40 households in England illegally dumped waste in 2014/2015

5 - the maximum number of years a fly-tipper can be jailed for

£50m - the cost of clearing up fly-tipping in England in 2014/2015