Ashton community rallies against scourge of fly-tippers

Residents in the west end of Ashton have stepped up their efforts to combat fly-tipping by installing new CCTV cameras on Dean Street.

Locals have also organised litter picks to help keep their area tidy, which comes a week after people were caught dumping bin bags full of rubbish opposite their home on Layard Street. 

Volunteers have also formed a community group to patrol the streets around Holy Trinity, tackling fly-tipping and helping households properly dispose of waste. 

However, not everyone is on message yet according to Ashton St Peters councillor, Kaleel Khan. 

“On Saturday 7th September, around 8 pm, a local resident in his early 50s was caught on CCTV casually wheeling a suitcase and dumping it on Layard Street. Our CCTV picked up the incident straightaway, and thanks to our volunteers and local residents, we quickly identified the offender. 

“We paid him a visit within 30 mins, and let's just say he and his family were shocked and embarrassed. There is no excuse to dump your trash on our streets. He removed his trash after we educated him on proper waste disposal.” 

Tameside – and Ashton in particular – has been deluged with waste in recent months. As we reported on our front page story last week, TMBC only prosecuted 2 people for fly-tipping between February and June this year, despite its environmental enforcement team being called out almost 1,000 times over the same period.