'Obscene' fly tipping at derelict Great Barr Hall

Tonnes of rubbish have been dumped in the grounds of a derelict hall in the West Midlands.

The fly tipping at Grade-II listed Great Barr Hall is enough to fill about 15 bin lorries and is causing a strong smell, resident Sally Hall said.

One resident said he estimated up to four tonnes of rubbish had been dumped there.

The land is privately owned but councillors have been to visit the site since it happened on Saturday.

A smaller amount of rubbish has also been dumped on the nearby Nether Hall housing estate, which is owned by Bovis.

The hall landowners have yet to get in touch with Walsall Council to discuss the removal of the rubbish, councillor Mike Bird said.

Ms Hill said she was shocked by what she and other residents had seen.

"It's never happened [there] before, I've never seen fly tipping on this scale anywhere before, it's obscene," she said.

"The smell is unreal," she said.

"When it rains it's going to wash such a lot of disgusting material into the stream adjacent to it."

Mr Bird said he estimated between three or four tonnes of waste had been left.

He said he understood the perpetrators cut locks on the gates to access the hall's land and then added new ones.

CCTV cameras in the area are being checked, he added.

"The message is, we will find you and prosecute you," he said.

"It's not alright to dump rubbish like this," he said.

According to Historic England, Great Barr Hall is an 18th century landscaped park associated with a country house. It also has links to landscape designer Humphry Repton and architects John Nash and George Gilbert Scott.

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