Shocking pictures reveal extent of Blackburn's fly-tipping plague

The images show furniture, medical waste, rubbish, clothes, needles and mess strewn in and around the Griffin Street area of the town.

Earlier this week the Lancashire Telegraph revealed how residents were fed-up with mess in the area in a special report into fly-tipping in East Lancashire.

Blackburn and Darwen Council had only cleared out part of the rubbish last week, but mountains have already been dumped again.

Skips have also been overflowing for months, with stench of faeces and expired foods permeating the air.

A number of unnamed residents have said that people are driving in at night and dumping their rubbish in the neighbourhood.

One resident Lubna Rashid, 47, said her six children refuse to leave their bedrooms as their living room has been ‘ravaged by rats’ due to the accumulation of rubbish on the street.

The single mum, who lives just off Hardman Street, said the ‘shocking’ fly tipping has been going on for around six months.

She said the situation has gotten so dire residents have claimed their homes have rats in them and the stench of faeces is so strong they refuse to open their windows.

Lubna, a student, said: “There is so much garbage in the street. It’s disgusting now and it’s full of rats.

“It’s so terrible, it smells terrible in the street. It’s really unhygienic. It smells like poo, it’s so disgusting.

“It makes it so difficult to live. We can’t even open the windows."

Lubna said she can’t survive with rats ripping through her floorboards but has had no assistance from the council.

She claims she has contacted the council but hasn’t been told there is nothing they can do ‘due to Covid’.

She added: “I’m suffering from the rats problem but no one has come to help us despite the fact I’ve informed the council."

The area around Hardman Street is due for demolition but is still occupied by many householders.

Official advice states ‘it is not essential to provide an official statement when reporting fly-tipping but a statement is very useful and on conviction the fine is up to £50,000 or six months imprisonment or both’.

A council spokesperson said: “Our household waste recycling centres are open and we currently offer residents of the borough over 3,400 booking slots each week.

“Our officers will always do their best to respond to reports of rubbish dumping or fly-tipping and we have recently been in this area to remove previously reported fly-tipping. We will be investigating these latest incidents.”