RUBBISH has been dumped in the back yards of 261 of the 280 empty houses in the Daneshouse area of Burnley, according to a shock report.

And a plea to 'stop rubbishing Daneshouse' has come from workers at the Jinnah Community Centre who have surveyed the problem and fear the rubbish will cause fire risks and attract rats and other vermin.

One of the volunteers, Abdul Waheed, said: "The survey does not include the empty houses in the demolition area.

"Many of the houses in question have been empty for a long time and some are derelict. It is a big problem in Daneshouse."

Around three years ago the back yards were cleared of rubbish but the problem is again as bad as ever despite skips being provided at five sites in the ward.

The council is also operating a free pick-up service for old and unwanted household items.

Mr Waheed said: "In some cases the back yards are full of all kinds of rubbish from old smelly carpets, old household items, wood, rubble and builders' refuse.

"It can attract vermin and there is also the problem cause by children setting fires. "The police and fire service then have to be called which all comes out of tax payers' money and there is also the danger to those who start the fires."

He added: "The council has always been co-operative in the past.

"We want them to again clear the back yards.

"We are also hoping that by highlighting the problem we can get the message across to people not to dump their rubbish.

"We have five skips at different locations in the area and the council operates a free service for taking away large unwanted household items."

He appealed for people to come along to the Jinnah Centre at 87-89 Abel Street, where helpers will ring the council and arrange for the rubbish to be collected.

Mr Waheed added: "What we are aiming for is for the Daneshouse area to be nice and tidy."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.