Anger as piles of litter build up near stadium
Mike SibPiles of rubbish building up in a field near a football stadium have become an "eyesore", locals have said.
Litter began accumulating two months ago when eight caravans pitched up next to the A66, near Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium.
Mike Sib, 63, used to walk his dog in the field every day but noticed rubbish when the travellers left the site and he said "other people have been dumping mattresses" there ever since.
A Middlesbrough Council spokesperson said the council was aware of the dumped items and the "area will be cleared as soon as possible".
The council said there had also been reports of fly-tipping at the nearby retail park and the items there would be removed too.
Mr Sib said the dumped mattresses and waste had become an "absolute eyesore" and said football fans had been commenting on it on their way to the stadium.
"I used to take my dog there every day because it was quiet," he said.
"When they [the travellers] left a month later they left litter, but now people are just dumping all sorts of rubbish."
The 63-year-old was worried about the negative impact on the environment as he had previously seen foxes in the area.
Mike SibBilly Welch, a spokesperson for the Gypsy and traveller community, said many local fly-tippers would "see an opportunity" in the presence of caravans.
He said: "I don't know these people, so I'm not saying they didn't leave litter but local fly-tippers then see it as an opportunity.
"It's often not stuff that you would have in a caravan - large mattresses or bricks and rubble."
Mr Welch said fly-tippers thought they could get away with blaming it on the travellers.
Labour councillor Lewis Young said fly-tipping "blights communities" and hoped to see action taken against the perpetrators.
He said: "We work closely with Middlesbrough Council's area care and environmental enforcement teams to remove the fly-tipping, and take appropriate action against those people who choose to fly-tip their rubbish.
"We hope to see swift action taken to remove this rubbish."
