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Salford residents 'ashamed' of their rubbish-strewn streets

BBC Salford resident Andy SalterBBC
Volunteer litter picker Andy Salter said many residents appreciated his efforts

People "ashamed" by the amount of rubbish dumped in their neighbourhood have taken to cleaning it up themselves.

Residents in Salford said they regularly found beds, televisions and old furniture dumped by fly-tippers.

They have joined forces as Salford Litter Heroes to stop the streets of the Greater Manchester city becoming a "no-go area".

Salford City Council said fly-tipping reports were nearing "record" levels.

Litter picker Andy Salter said it was "absolutely soul destroying" to see the mess people left.

Salford fly-tipping around Northbourne Street in Langworthy
Images of piles of rubbish have been widely-shared by Salford residents online

He said it could take up to two days to clear some streets.

But he told BBC Radio Manchester that often fly-tippers return after his job is done.

"I was under the delusion that if I started clearing areas people would start respecting that, so I've had to form a thick skin," he said.

Mr Salter said he suspected a lack of CCTV in the Langworthy area meant it was deliberately targeted by those who "did not have any respect for this area".

"I love the city and I would love the city to become clean," he added.

Salford resident John Smith
John Smith said he did not want to see rubbish when leaving his home "every morning"

John Smith says he has been using his trailer to haul away rubbish because he felt "very ashamed" by the state of the Langworthy area.

"Every few night a car flies in and opens his boot and throws out maybe two or three bags", he said.

He added the council "knew about this" but said nothing appeared to have been done about it.

"It's very frustrating. It's got that bad I've to do it myself."

Salford fly-tipping around Northbourne Street in Langworthy
A local councillor said there has recently been a record number of fly-tipping reports

Phillip Wheatland, who lives in the Langworthy area, said he once confronted someone who was trying to abandon a freezer.

"It doesn't look great when it brings the rats out," he said.

Phillip Wheatland
Langworthy resident Phillip Wheatland said fly-tipping in the area was becoming "too much"

Salford City councillor John Mullen recently told a scrutiny committee that record numbers of fly-tipping reports were being made, and council taxes had risen to deal with the problem, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

He said court backlogs meant it was taking a "minimum" of 18 months and in some instances up to two years for cases to be resolved.

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