CROYDON Council is being told to clean up its act on fly-tipping by angry Kenley residents who have accused the local authority of neglecting the issue in the village.
The Advertiser has been inundated with photos of rubbish, from broken beds to discarded bottles of methadone – a heroin substitute used to rehabilitate drug addicts – just yards away from a primary school.
One series of photos sent to the Advertiser shows a sofa left dumped for two weeks by the roadside in Old Lodge Lane, where residents say the illegal act is most prevalent.
Nick Denvil, 35, who lives in Old Lodge Lane, said: "There has been no improvement, no progress. There have been issues going on in Old Lodge Lane for years. It's a hygiene issue and a blight on our village.
"I don't think it reflects well on the council's environmental policy. If it reflects the council's environment policy I think it is something to be ashamed of.
"When you see bottles of methadone near where children play and 30 seconds away from their school, that's when you've got to start asking serious questions about what's going wrong here.
"It is disgusting and the mentality on how we deal with it needs to change."
New measures are being called for with fly-tippers undeterred by current enforcement which can range from a £75 to £50,000 fine or twelve months in prison.
Although Old Lodge Lane does not receive the highest number of call-outs for fly-tipping when compared with roads across the borough, residents say it is being neglected due to its remote location.
David Hooper, also a resident of the street, said: "It's extremely messy. We have had meetings with Kenley councillor Steve O'Connell and with the council because people are saying the whole process is taking too long.
"It is just getting worse and worse. It is getting to a situation where people are getting very angry and if the authorities don't do something about it it could escalate further."
Cllr O'Connell has urged more residents to come forward and report the continuing problem in Old Lodge Lane.
He said: "Somebody's not reporting it. I will be urging people to tell me or the council for it to get cleared. Let's get these things reported. It's a Kenley beauty spot and it horrifies me it's being dumped on."
A council spokesman said: "We're in regular dialogue with local residents and businesses and we will certainly prosecute whenever we obtain enough proof to allow us to do so."
