A DAUGHTER struggled get through to her elderly mother’s house in Old Town when rubbish was dumped behind the property for months.

Anna Church, 52, of Liden, says she watched helplessly as the pile of items, including mattresses, bed frames and food, grew between 50-60 Curtis Street.

The house where Concetta Fiore, Anna’s 82-year-old mother, lives was one of those affected. She claims she called the council to report the fly-tipping problem without success.

Anna said: “Behind the houses between 50 and 60 Curtis Street there has been this tipping for more than two months, it is a disgrace.

“I go to my mother’s every day and it stopped us from driving our cars in the back area without either touching the tree or moving the items that have been tipped there so that we can drive past.

“I do think they need cameras in this area because the council used to always clear the area every couple of weeks.

“I feel sorry for the council as they used to clear it, but I understand that they don’t now because people are tipping constantly in this area. These people need to be fined for doing this.”

Anna claimed rats have been seen around the area, preventing people from sitting in their gardens.

More money has been invested in keeping street clear and tidy, according to Old Town parish councillor Nicholas Burns-Howell.

He told the Adver: “Many residents have seen reduction in litter in the local area due to the additional street cleaning the parish conducts, however fly-tipping is a surge which still impacts too many parts of Swindon.

“I would like to see more enforcement action taken by the borough council to punish those senseless individuals who feel it is fine to dump their rubbish for others to clear up, not caring about the way it impacts the community.

“I’ve spoken with Anna and flagged this with the parish council, raised a case with the borough and also brought it to the attention of the leader of the council.

“I’m happy to say that it has now been cleared but we need to look at ways such as more enforcement cameras to prevent this from happening in areas like Curtis Street and across Swindon.”

Anna added: “I called them on March 14 and half an hour later, they came and removed the stuff.”

A Swindon Borough Council spokesman said: “This is fly-tipping at its absolute worst where a tiny minority feel it is perfectly acceptable to dump their waste in this way, spoiling a local neighbourhood for the people who live there.

“Our crew have since cleared this rubbish, but we can ill afford to spend taxpayers’ money removing someone else’s unwanted items when it should have been disposed of responsibly.”

Members of the public are invited to report any incident of fly-tipping via www.swindon.gov.uk/flytipping