Rubbish dumped at Tewkesbury leader's home

Councillor Robert Vines is waging war on fly-tippers.

The Tewkesbury Borough Council leader has been directly affected by the menace at his home near Cheltenham and is demanding people take responsibility for their actions.

Mr Vines said he was already keenly aware of the problem, which has seen people dumping rubbish across the district rather than dispose of it properly at amenity sites.

Now his mind has been focused even more on the issue after somebody left a huge pile of rubbish at his Normansbrook Farm home, near Shurdington.

Mr Vines (C, Badgeworth) said: "I have been the victim of fly-tipping in one of the access gateways on my farm and it is very annoying to find that someone has done this under the cover of darkness. This is a problem throughout the borough and I would hope anyone who notices anything of this nature could take a note of the vehicle registration number and any other details which might help to identify the culprits.

"I have looked through the pile of rubbish but I haven't been able to find anything like an envelope with an address on that can be traced back to a source."

He said his land had been used by fly-tippers on a few occasions in the last six years.

He said: "It's just so annoying. It's not just the cost, it's the fact that people do that, knowing they're causing a mess.

"It's not necessary."

Fly-tipping has been a problem in the borough for a number of years.

There were 498 cases reported from November 2008 to the end of October 2009 and in the 12 months before that the figure was 535.

Mr Vines added: "It is a very anti-social activity and seems like an easy option for those with rubbish to dump.

"If people can remain vigilant and report any similar situations, then perhaps we can stamp this out.

"For now, I am left to clear up someone else's mess."

Anyone with information about illegal fly-tippers is asked to contact the borough council on 01684 295010.