Handsworth residents raising £15k to reduce fly-tipping

A group of people living in Birmingham are raising money to secure an alleyway in a bid to tackle fly-tipping.

Residents of Headingly Road in Handsworth said piles of rubbish, including mattresses, fridges and bin bags had been building up behind their homes.

They want to raise £15,000 to secure the area by adding new gates and locks once the rubbish has been cleared away.

Clean-up efforts in partnership with the council started on Tuesday.

Local residents and volunteers teamed up to create the Headingly Alleyway and Road Action Group which aims to clear up fly-tipping and create a safer area.

Alima Rico, who was taking part in the clean up, moved back to the area last year and said it was "disheartening" to see a residential area used as a "dumping ground" for rubbish.

"I was baffled that people would treat such a residential area as a spot to tip," she said.

"It's really disheartening as it's a place I used to play in as a kid."

Ms Rico said she had witnessed several people reverse cars or vans into the alleyway to unload rubbish, with local businesses nearby implementing CCTV.

"It's even more disheartening that other people see your home as a dumping ground as well and that it's not just people with no bins in the area," she said.

She said she had contacted the waste management company Biffa and Birmingham City Council to get the area cleared, with the council stepping in to support this week.

"We realised we can't do it alone so that's why we made the group," she added.

Ms Rico added that donations to secure the area from further fly-tipping and criminal activity were being accepted online.

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