A WOMAN says fly-tipped waste which has been behind her home for 10 months has led to her having an issue with rats.

Barbara Sadowska, who lives on Staffa Crescent in Shadsworth, Blackburn, moved into her rented home last year and was excited to have a property with a garden.

The family, comprising her, her husband and 21-year-old daughter, noticed a huge amount of waste behind their home leading them to contact the council more than 10 times to get it removed.

Since this, the family have not been able to enjoy the garden because the waste has attracted rats, making it impossible for them to use the area.

Barbara said: “I feel horrible. You have done so much and you refurbish the house.

“My husband was getting nice furniture and we were trying to enjoy the weather outside and we can’t.

“We see rats three or four times a day. They were almost running towards us – it looks like they want to attack us.

“We were running out of the garden.”

After picking up the keys Barbara and her husband wanted to make the property more presentable before moving in so they spent time doing renovations.

In August, Barbara first reported the fly-tipping, which is on land behind her back garden fence, however 10 months later the waste has still not been cleared.

Since this she has called several more times with, on some occasions a log being made, however, she said it would be dropped without her being told.

On querying why the cases were dropped, she was told it was first that the van could not get to the area to pick up the waste and then told after that the waste had been cleared by a community group who had cleared waste further down the road.

On reporting the issue of rats to the council, a member of staff from the pest control department came over to provide her with a rat trap to put in her back garden.

She said: “I reported it on the phone and nothing happened. I started sending emails to the council.

“They would open a case then they didn’t contact me and then would close the case.”

A council spokesperson said: “We have previously responded to this complaint as there are several issues with the issues with regard to the rubbish in question.

“The main issue is getting to the site where the waste is it is approximately 175 metres from where we can safely bring the 5.5 or 7.5 tonne collection vehicle in, there are then large rocks, a narrow footpath and a significant drop. It would not be safe to do so. A much smaller vehicle could be used but this is not feasible at the moment.

“We hope to have a solution soon but it is a balance between having the right resources to do it and making sure that the staff expected to carry out the work are safe and not put at risk.”