A fed-up Edinburgh business owner has hit out after the spot outside his café has become a notorious fly-tipping spot - and he has even had to confront people.
David Boyle says that his business, The Bonnie Barista, on Balgreen Road, is being impacted by the fact fly-tippers have been dumping kitchen appliances and mattresses near his store for months.
David has been going back and fourth with the council to prevent further incidents in the area and has recorded footage of several different offenders being caught in the act as well as taking photos of the mess that has been left in the wake of multiple incidents recently.
READ MORE - Disappointed West Lothian bride had to wait as golfers 'played through' wedding photos
Saying that the issue is starting to have an impact on the business, which only opened in July and has been well received by the local community, David says he has grown sick of pleading with the council to resolve the issue.
Speaking to Edinburgh Live , the 30-year-old said: "In general the council and local residents have told me that the little area where the bins for the flats are is notorious for people coming and dumping all sorts of stuff. When we were were doing the renovations to the Bonnie Barista we had to get a skip and block it as people were trying to use it.
"You turn up one day and there's just stuff lying there all the time. There's a big builders sack outside at the moment, there has been a whole kitchen worktop and basin, quite often a mattress will appear. I've no idea why people dump stuff there, it steps back a little bit from the main road and it seems to be because it's a dark corner and there is bins for the flat, people think 'oh I'll just dump my stuff there'."
Recently, David snapped a picture of a man who dumped a washing machine at the site in broad daylight. He added: "This guy turned up at 2.30pm, traffic was busy, and just unloaded a dishwasher. The dump is literally five minutes away.
"Even when the council come and take it away, they broke the bin and loads of rubbish fell onto the street as they snapped the whole lid off. They were about to drive off before I asked them to clear what had fallen onto the street which they done then asked 'are you happy now'.
"I've had to bother the council for weeks as I never get a reply. The one time they did get back to me was during the bin strikes when they used that as an excuse but I said it had been going on for six weeks so they can't use that as an excuse now.
"Through the bin strikes, we offered to pay for the whole street to ne cleaned by a private contractor but it was illegal apparently. We just wanted to tidy up the area so it didn't impact the business."
David said that he has confronted fly-tippers in the past and told them to take their rubbish elsewhere. He added that even the restaurant next door tried to dump a big bag of chick peas before he told them to move it.
David said he also reported broken glass that was left as a result of an uplift and reported it as dangerous towards animals and children. Separate images taken by David show a pile of household items and cabinet piled up with a shopping trolley filled with bits of wood also abandoned.
A spokeswoman for Edinburgh Council confirmed that they are aware of the issue and several visits have been made to investigate reports of fly-tipping. A fixed penalty has also been issued to a local trader and enquiries are ongoing to trace an individual who was caught fly-tipping.
Items currently dumped at the site including a kitchen unit were searched but did not produce evidence to allow further investigation. They say monitoring patrols will continue and appropriate action will be taken.
READ MORE:
Edinburgh woman hits back at 'laid back' dog walker after rescue pup charged at
Man told 'deal with it' after complaining about behaviour of toddler next door
Terrified girl thought dad was 'going to die' in Christmas ride from hell
Shop closes after over 50 years of being one of Edinburgh's much-loved stores
John Lewis turned oven into 'air fryer' for £10 with game changer alternative
