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Kitchener Street

These pictures were taken of Kitchener Street in the Sandwell borough on the evening of Monday 1st September 2008.

They show the shocking extent of the fly-tipping problem that has plagued the area for years. The man in the photos is Nigel Crockford who contacted us about the situation.

Nigel said: "I have used Kitchener Street as a route to work for the last three years and have constantly been appalled at the state of the road.

Nigel Crockford

"Historically, the council have cleared the area and have put skips here at times. But it never ceases to amaze me that people have the audacity to continue drop their disgusting rubbish here. It's happening every single day.

"There are places people can go with their rubbish and it can be dealt with appropriately. It doesn't take too much trouble. Even if you drive through here on a sunny day your mood gets a little bit tarnished by people being so inconsiderate."

As these photos show, some of the rubbish found includes: bags of garden waste, rubbish, cement, tyres, children's toys, a sofa, a mattress, an easy chair, a fridge-freezer and a front door.

Nigel Crockford with debris

"I know the council have done their best," said Nigel. "The area has been cleaned two or three times to my knowledge but it always ends up like this again very quickly.

"Fly-tipping is a major problem all over the country. What bothers me is that I was in town the other day and witnessed a policeman issue an on-the-spot fine to someone for dropping a cigarette end."

Do you have fly-tipping problems in your area? E-mail us at blackcountry@bbc.co.uk

Sandwell Council's response

Sandwell Council e-mailed BBC WM this response:

"Sandwell Council's cabinet member for neighbourhoods and housing Cllr Mahboob Hussain said:

Sandwell Council is acutely aware of the problems regarding fly-tipping in Kitchener Street. We have spent a lot of time and resources over the years continually clearing up the area because people selfishly and thoughtlessly dump their rubbish there.

Another view

Thousands of pounds a year is spent making weekly inspections and clean-ups of fly-tipping in Kitchener Street alone. Both the police and the Council have taken enforcement action against people responsible for fly-tipping, but despite this the problem continues.

Consequently, it has been decided to completely restrict access to Kitchener Street by gating it off. Smethwick Town Tasking Group and the police are fully supportive of the proposal to gate off the street.

We hope this will be in place by Christmas, subject to there being no objections to the statutory notice of the council's intention to make the Gating Order. It will take a couple of months as we have to go through a legal process which includes going to the magistrates court before we can gate off a public highway.

In July, the cabinet member for regeneration and transport approved the disposal of the land which we hope will be sold off for industrial use."