ROTTING animal remains were dumped in town centre bins in a ‘grossly irresponsible’ act that has been branded a serious public health risk.

The remains, believed to be from a cow, were left inside four wheelie bins next to the Dunelm store, in Green Street, on Saturday August 8.

Shop workers and an ambulance crew who had been attending a nearby incident informed police of a disgusting stench coming from the bins, with Bury Council officers then brought in to remove the rancid meat.

After being called to the scene at 11.35am, police emptied the bins as they verified that the remains, which were covered in maggots, were not human.

A similar incident had been reported recently at a site in Bury, near the junction of Ainsworth Road and Bolton Road, in which rotting meat had been dumped in bins.

Council officials have described the smell of the remains as ‘sickening’, adding that they had to be removed from the premises immediately because of the health risks that had been posed to the public.

A council spokesman said: “We were called by the police to the Dunelm site following a complaint about the smell from adjacent bins.

“We discovered that the bins contained a large quantity of rotting animal remains, which was covered in maggots and gave off a sickening smell. Although this was on private land, we took immediate action to remove and dispose of this waste on health grounds.

“This follows a similar report of rotting meat being dumped at a site in Bury near the Ainsworth Road junction with Bolton Road.

“These are grossly irresponsible acts, which pose a serious risk to public health and, of course, cost the local taxpayer money in disposal costs. We would urge anyone who has information about these incidents to call the police and the council.”

It is not known who has dumped the remains or if the two reported acts are connected, and police have not made any further investigations into the incidents.