Car park clean-up call by ex-mayor

Maurice Cowell, chairman of the Hyndburn Police and Community Forum, said he was at end of his tether over a litter-strewn car park which is one of the gateways to Accrington town centre.

And he claimed the car park off the Viaduct roundabout, behind Kwik Save, was not cleaned often enough, and said the council should keep its own 'back yard' tidy.

Mr Cowell said the car park is used by many people who live out of the area, and is often the first thing people see when entering the town.

Now he is using his standing in the community to appeal to the council leaders to keep the area clean. Mr Cowell, 70, a former councillor and former mayor of Hyndburn, said: "The forum has four possibly five meetings a year, and the problem does come up.

"It's right on their back yard, it's right by the Town Hall, and the council should be taking a tour round and looking at this place.

"The cars here could come from all over the country, not just the county.

"It's about time they cleaned their own back yard up rather than complain about other people fly tipping."

The car park is one of Accrington's disc parking areas, and is part of the area set to be transformed into a bus station before long. But Mr Cowell says the council should take an interest in the car park, and keep it clean for tourists.

He added: "I never gave it a thought until it started to come up at police forums. The last one was two or three months ago.

"If you go round Blackburn or Burnley you won't get it like this. It's an embarrassment to the residents here because of the people who come in, and some people work in this environment.

"I could understand if it was out where it couldn't be seen, but this is seen."

Coun Anne Scaife, the council's portfolio holder for environment and cleansing, said council officers would take a look at the car park, and examine where the rubbish was coming from.

She said: "We will look at it.

"I cannot say anything else until I have got the facts."