A FURIOUS resident is calling for an end to his fly-tipping misery after almost two decades fighting the problem.

John Garside, of Eton Hill Road, Radcliffe, has regularly reported severe fly-tipping outside the council-owned flats where he has lived for 19 years and says he is now desperate for a long-term solution.

The 63-year-old was outraged by comments made by Glen Stuart, Head of Waste Management at Bury Council, on ITV's Tonight show last week, where he said that fly-tipping had not worsened since the introduction of three-weekly bin collections.

Mr Garside, a retired civil enforcement officer, said: "It has been going on for years. I have been in touch with the council on several occasions and they get it cleaned up after a while, but it needs a long-term solution.

"When I saw Mr Stuart saying that fly-tipping is not getting worse in Bury, I found it totally ridiculous. It's a mega problem.

"People can easily dump their rubbish here, both residents and people who park up behind.

"It is a problem with some tenants. Some recycle and some don't. I have lived here for 19 years and have seen all sorts of things left there - household rubbish, stuff left by builders, beds, settees, you name it.

"The three-weekly bin collections don't help at all - things have been worse since that was introduced.

"A lot of changes have taken place in the 19 years I have been here, but we have always had this terrible fly-tipping."

Adam Greenhalgh, Tenancy Management and Enforcement Business Manager at Six Town Housing, said: “We take complaints of fly-tipping very seriously and work closely with the council to identify and prosecute offenders.

"When the fly-tipping was reported to us, we were able to identify three tenants who were responsible. We worked with the council’s Environmental Health team, who issued a notice under Section 80 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to the tenants on June 1, asking them to remove the rubbish.

"This gave them a two week period in which to clear the fly-tipping and advised them that if it remained the Council would arrange for its removal and reclaim the full costs of doing so.

"As the tenants took no action, the rubbish was cleared on June 17 and the tenants will be charged for this, plus additional costs for time and administration."

Bury Council remain adamant that the fly-tipping issue is not connected to the reduced bin collection service.

A council spokesman added: "This fly-tipping has nothing to do with three-weekly bin collections. You cannot put dumped mattresses, as seen in these photos, in your grey bin no matter how often they are collected.

"Furthermore, there is more than enough bin capacity on this site for people to dispose of their rubbish properly."