COMPLAINTS have been raised over shocking flytipping in the River Irwell including vehicles that have been buried on the riverbed since the Boxing Day floods in 2015.

Photos taken in the past four days show tyres, bicycles, and other waste strewn across the banks and floating in the water, at the Radcliffe section of the River Irwell.

Concerns have also been raised about the impact on wildlife following a pollution incident in the stretch of the Irwell near to Pioneer Mills.

The unknown substance was reported to the Environment Agency (EA) on Saturday, April 21 by the Little Britain Angler's (LBA), a group of anglers aiming to improve and protect the River Irwell and its surrounding environment.

Chairman Eric Owen said: "Here we go again. This stretch is one of the worst affected areas of the River Irwell.

"I reported to the EA in disbelief that the river is being polluted again opposite Pioneer Mills in Radcliffe. It is absolutely horrendous.

"That pollution will have killed all the wildlife in that section of the river. It is spawning season but any eggs in that section of the river will be dead.

"There is also shocking flytipping. It is phenomenal.

"There are four or five cars still in the water near Pioneer Mills, which have not been removed since the Boxing Day floods of 2015.

"The Environment Agency still has not acted on it. They need to get a crane onto the land to pull the cars out. It should have been dealt with.

"Waste has been tipped down the bank and buried the vehicles.

"This river is not getting the attention it needs.

"The Irwell has so much potential but it is all being destroyed.

"Enough is enough. Whoever is doing this needs stopping or prosecuting."

The Environment Agency said it had removed six vehicles from the River Irwell since the Boxing Day floods of 2015.

The EA confirmed they must seek permission from the landowner to access the site with equipment to remove the flytipped waste.

An Environment Agency spokesperson said: "Since the Boxing Day floods of 2015 we have removed six vehicles from the River Irwell.

"The vehicles were moved as quickly as possible to ensure flood risk is reduced locally.

"We are aware of Mr Owen’s concerns and have spoken to him to advise him of our management plan for removing any remaining items posing flood risk.

"We have also liaised with local councillors to advise them of our course of action.

"Regarding a more recent incident, we received a report of pollution in the River Irwell on Saturday, April 21 at Pioneer Mills in Radcliffe and are carrying out enquiries with partners which led to the pollution being stopped.

"We would like to assure the community we take such reports very seriously and will always look to take action against those who pollute our rivers.

"We encourage the public to report any incidents or environmental concerns to our 24-hour incidence hotline, 0800 807 060.”

Mr Owen also said rubbish had been flytipped in nearby Milltown Street, Radcliffe, which included dumped sofas.

Little Britain Angler's submitted a Freedom of Information request to Bury Council which found there were 3,932 reports of flytipping in 2017.

At the time a response was received on April 3, the council said that 1,077 flytipping incidents had been reported so far in 2018.

Mr Owen said: "I have worked in waste management for the past three years dealing with general, hazardous and clinical waste so I feel very strongly about flytipping.

"It is a threat to wildlife and humans as most flytipping is hazardous waste which people do not know how to dispose of."

He urged residents to pay a small fee for a waste collection service that has a waste carrier licence. He also called for residents to obtain a waste transfer note, signed on collection and disposal, to avoid prosecution.