Roadside rubbish mountain that is 'unofficial tip' forces drivers on to kerb
A pile of rubbish on a road in east London has grown into an “unofficial tip” that motorists now have to mount a kerb to avoid.
Debris is strewn across Link Road in Barking, just off the A13, much to the annoyance of residents.
A Google Maps image from as far back as December 2020 shows the rubbish on the road is not a new problem, and fly tippers continue to dump their things there.
But the local council says the pile is not its responsibility because the road is privately owned.
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Mark Smith, 53, who lives in the nearby Rylands Estate, said fly-tipping is a problem in the area.
“It’s a constant issue,” he said.
“People are dumping mattresses, fridge freezers etc on the footpaths.”
He said he has to mount his car on to the kerb to drive around the rubbish.
“It angers and disgusts me, it’s the area I live in and it’s a dump,” he said.
“You think, why do people do that? Why can’t they do the right thing and take it to the rightful places?
“It makes the area look untidy and rundown, and causes all sorts of problems.”
Smith said he had a meeting with a council worker earlier this summer about the issue.
However, because the rubbish is being dumped on private land, their options to resolve the situation are limited.
Smith said of the fly-tippers: “Why are you doing this? Why can’t you take this to a proper place? Have you got no morals?”
A Barking and Dagenham Council spokesperson said: “The land in question is on private land which means the landowner has responsibility to deal with any fly tips on their land.
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“Barking and Dagenham is one of very few councils in the country to secure a ban on illegal encampments and fly-tipping which has seen a reduction in the amount of fly-tips on council land and green spaces and has since saved the council millions of pounds in clear-out costs.
“Unfortunately, the ban does not cover private landowners who have to make their own arrangements to clear fly-tips on their lands.”
Watch: Woman confronts fly-tippers then takes their trailer keys
